Every entomologist since the beginning of time has had someone come running up to her and yell “I saw an albino cockroach! It was amazing! Are they rare? Are they different? Is it a new species?!? I wish I had a camera! You would have loved it!” Oh, to be young and naive again. You [...]
A Brundage Web-log
Things Adrienne & Dean Do, Think and WriteBrowsing Posts published in November, 2007
Scientists are mining a previously untapped resource for fuel: termite guts. Termites, those annoying buggers that eat us out of house and home, have the ability to break down cellulose–the substance that makes up the cell wall in woody plants. Many animals are unable to digest cellulose (mmm…fiber!) so it is a great biological feat [...]
Last last night I got an email from the secretary at Texas A&M University. You see, I applied for a PhD position there (haven’t heard that? Read my blog!) a few months back, and I’ve been waiting for my official notice. After that application was turned in, my future advisor, Dr. Tomberlin, called and said [...]
This is a neat group–it shows the process bees go through to make a hive. Love it! –Source
Here’s an interesting little tidbit: mosquito saliva is bad for you. It has long been known that various viruses, including malaria and west nile virus, are spread by mosquitos; the virus resides in the mosquito’s mouth parts and is injected into the host during a bite. But scientists have recently discovered that exposure to uninfected [...]
Today’s question involves how cancerous cells divide and actually become tumors. Here’s the question: All of the following mechanisms have been shown experimentally to the contribution to the formation of cancer cells EXCEPT:and then there were answers. The basis of this question is the nature of cancer. Cancer is the abnormal growth (and possible spread) [...]
Would you look at these beautiful pictures!I just love this site–and they help you figure out how to take pictures of this caliber on your own. Source
So I’m lying in bed, recouperating from my surgery, and I turn on Discovery, right into Dirty Jobs, season two, when he is in Cupertino, CA (near my house! Woo!) with The Bee Man. They remove a huge (and I mean ginormous!) bee hive from a wall of a parsonage. Check it out! source
The Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens, is a serious pest of crops in California. So much so, that the California Department of Food and Agriculture routienly monitors for the pest. Recently, several flies were found in traps, and this prompted a swift reaction from authorities. Pesticides were applied by hand, and the state has begun [...]
Scientists have discovered a new way ants control their farmed food source: aphids. It has long been known that certain ant species have domesticated aphids, and use the piercing-sucking insects for their honeydew (mmmm…honeydew….). It was once thought that aphids stayed in the protection of the ants because the ants were able to fight of [...]
