Dr. Perran Ross allows himself to be bitten by thousands of mosquitos daily. He revealed why he allows thousands of mosquitos to bite him, on purpose.
For most people, the prospect of being bitten by a mosquito is something we would rather avoid. That incessant whining buzz, and then the desperate - but futile - scratching.
Just a quick graze of a scratch, barely even a scratch, more like a brush, would do more harm, surely. By then though it's too late, as a wave of frantic scratching and scraping at that angry red bite mark unfolds.
The frenzy builds momentum until you're like a marooned sailor who, in a final act of desperation, gulps down seawater to slake his thirst only to find himself all the thirstier.
People might undertake all manner of measures to avoid a mosquito bite, from net curtains to jungle formula, but one man actively seeks it out - and here is why...
Dr. Perran Ross, known by his moniker 'Mosquito Man', does it for perhaps a sane reason - for science.
Ross works as an experimental biologist studying mosquitos, including how long they can live as well as the bacteria they can carry.
Given that mosquitos are one of the deadliest animals out there due to being a vector for malaria, developing a greater understanding of them is rather important.
But why does he stick his arm in a box full of mosquitos?
Well, the research requires the team to keep plenty of mosquitos on hand for them to study. And like any animals you keep in captivity, from time to time they need feeding.
Unfortunately, this would not be a case of sticking in some blood for them to consume. Allowing them to feed naturally will keep them behaving as normally as possible.
And needless to say, throwing a live animal into the boxes to be sucked dry of blood would be classed as animal cruelty.
So Ross has the unenviable task of feeding the mosquitos. He does this by simply sticking his forearm into the boxes and letting the insects feed on him, meaning he can be bitten by thousands in a day.
At present, his research includes work on endosymbionts. That is an organism that lives inside another,
for example, the many kinds of bacteria that call our gut their home.
Ross's research focuses on how these organisms can be used in pest and disease control and pest control programs. If anything is worth sticking your arm in a box full of mosquitos for, it's trying to fight disease and starvation.
Source: Unilad
