Jumanji, Welcome to the Jungle: Citronella and the Mosquitoes

Alex, played by Nick Jonas in the new movie of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, has weaknesses as every other player in the game, but the most important of them is the ‘allergy’ to mosquitoes. In the scene where he makes margaritas for everyone, we see that his house (built by Alan Parrish) is loaded with lots and lots of citronella candles to keep away mosquitoes... But what does citronella exactly do to these creatures?
First of all, let's define what citronella is. What we call citronella is an oil obtained from the stems of mainly two species of the Lemongrass family: the Cymbopogon Nardus and the Cymbopogon Winterianus. This oil contains a majority of aldehydes and alcohols, being the active compounds in citronella oil (for the purpose of repelling mosquitoes) camphor, eucalyptol, eugenol, linalool, citronellal and citral.
What does it do to mosquitoes? Well, some evidence suggests that these compounds interfere with mosquito olfactory receptors. It is said to mask the carbon dioxide and lactic acid scents that mosquitoes are searching for, so generally, insects will have a much more difficult time locating you when you have applied citronella oil. However, the definite mechanism of action of these compounds in preventing mosquito bites has not yet been fully elucidated.
Although this may sound good, citronella oil is not miraculous. It is demonstrated that citronella oil used in a variety of preparations is less effective than DEET, the most common synthetic active ingredient in insect repellents, in terms of duration of protection against mosquitoes. And despite the fact that the oil’s mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research, the citronella has to be used undiluted; as for candles, the plant itself (only the oil obtained from the plant will repel mosquitoes) and other citronella-emitting devices just work in areas of limited air movement, being ineffective in open areas.
And there is more! The EPA considers the oil of citronella as a biopesticide with a non-toxic mode of action, but it's quite known the adverse effects of the product in people. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the oil might cause skin irritation, and the direct application of citronella oil can lead to raise the heart rate of some people, the reason why some countries banned the oil's use as an insect repellent (for example, Canada).
So, I’m so sorry Alex, but considering that you where in an open area, surrounded by candles that where diluted, and exposed 20 years of your life to citronella, by the time our four heroes arrived you would be buried below ground, don’t you think?

Photograph by @monicore

Pocahontas: Can Trees Talk?

Almost everybody has seen Pocahontas at least once. The most curious part of the movie for me? Well, it was quite shocking to see Grandmother Willow, a talking willow tree, that somewhat guided Pocahontas. Some years later, I’m asking myself this... Can trees talk? Can they communicate with us? Could we learn from them like the protagonist? Recent evidence says that trees can communicate with each other. Suzanne Simard ’s research shows that below the earth there are vast networks of roots working with fungi to move water, carbon, and nutrients among trees of all species. These complex, symbiotic networks, also known as Wood-Wide Web or mycorrhizal networks, mimic human neural and social networks. This network even has mother trees or hub trees, managing information flow, helping younger seedlings and passing wisdom from generation to generation. Peter Wohlleben , a German forester and author, also researched in this area, proving that not only through the soil can trees communi...

The Twilight Saga: How the Idea of a Soulmate Affects Our Mind

Everybody knows at least one of the synonyms for the word “soulmate”: androgynous, soulmate, destined, mate, ‘true love’, ‘one's promised’... But there’s only one definition: a special affinity, understanding, or powerful bond that exists between one person and another. For example, we see Jacob Black (one of the principal characters of the movie “ Twilight ”) in the penultimate movie of the saga finding out that Bella and Edward’s daughter, Reneesmé, is his soulmate. As I thought about this, I became very curious about one thing... How many people believed in having a soulmate? Well, according to a Marist poll , 73% of Americans believe in soulmates; more men than women believe in the ‘soulmate’ theory (males: 74%, females: 71%); and 79% of people younger than 45 believe in soulmates, while only 69% of those over 45 do. Now, that’s a lot of people! And again, thinking about this, how would this theory, believing in a ‘soulmate’ affect their minds? Luckily for me, I found some sci...

The Book of Life: The Impostor’s Syndrome

Some of you may have seen the movie The Book of Life . I liked, one way or the other, all the characters presented in the plot: some of them are odious, some are lovable... And one of the characters that’s the most pitiest, for me, is Joaquin. In the movie, we see a fearless General, ready for whatever comes in the way... Is it? Actually, no. He is consumed by guilt, really thinking that he doesn’t deserve all the medals and achievements he has. Even when he no longer has his ‘special medal’ to protect him (we have to see how ‘special’ was... Maybe it was something to lift his self-confidence, like the ‘ beauty patch ’, or the trick that Harry Potter plays on his friend Ronald ) and fights along with Manolo, almost sacrificing himself on the way, he doesn’t feel himself worthy of a medal anymore. This kind of thinking, self-doubting your competence and capacities, the overwhelming feeling that you don't deserve your success, is what we call ‘Impostor Syndrome’. As Joaquin, pe...

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