MITES, or Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science, is a six-week summer program for rising high school seniors held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its purpose is to expose students from minority or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds to the fields of science and engineering so as foster an interest in these subject matters and prepare students for the pressures of college life.
The current Head of the MITES program is Dr. Dedric Carter.
Also, they take one of three electives:
All classes are taught by professors who are assisted by the resident TAs who help run the program.
The students also participate in myriad activities such as a Fourth of July barbecue, a trip to Martha's Vineyard, a tour of Boston, a tour of the MIT Museum, one-day labs in fields of vanguard research, dinners with the Director of Admissions at MIT, a talent show, college fairs, a Dining Cruise, and many speaker's luncheons with people such as the new Dean of Science at MIT and Eric Lander.
Mites, along with ticks, belong to the subclass Acarina (also known as Acari) and the class Arachnida. Mites are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups. They have exploited an incredible array of habitats, and because of their small size (most are microscopic) most go totally unnoticed. Many live freely in the soil or water, but there are also a large number of species that live as parasites on plants, animals, and even some that feed on mold.
Some of the plant pests include the so called spider mites (family Tetranychidae), thread-footed mites (family Tarsonemidae), and the gall mites (family Eriophyidae). Among the species that attack animals are members of the Sarcoptic Mange mites (family Sarcoptidae), which burrow under the skin. Demodex mites (family Demodicidae) are parasites that live in or near the hair follicles of mammals, including humans. Perhaps the best-known mite, though, is the house dust mite (family Pyroglyphidae).
Insects may also have parasitic mites. Examples are Varroa destructor which attaches to the body of the honeybee, and Acarapis woodi (family Tarsonemidae), which lives in the tracheae of honey bees. There are hundreds of species of mites associated with other bee species, and most are poorly described and understood. Some are thought to be parasites, while others beneficial symbionts.
There are over 45,000 described species of mites 
Scientists believe that we have only found 5% of the total diversity of mites. Mites are believed to have existed for around 400 million years.
The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.
The tropical species Archegozetes longisetosus is one of the strongest animals in the world, relative to its mass (100 μg): It lifts up to 1182 times its own weight, over five times more than would be expected of such a minute animal (Heethoff & Koerner 2007).
Like most of the other types of allergy, treatment of mite allergy starts with avoidance. There is a strong body of evidence showing that avoidance should be helpful in patients with atopic dermatitis triggered by exposure to mites. Regular washing of mattresses and blankets with hot water can help in this regard. Antihistamines are also useful; Cetirizine, for example, is shown to reduce allergic symptoms of patients.
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
--Contributions/90.216.217.9 (90.216.217.9) 19:22, 7 October 2008 (UTC)AKABI
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