Over several million years, Venus Flytraps have been triggered to snap shut by flies. A new research project has shown they can also be triggered by a mouse – viz. a computer mouse [As shown in the video above]. The many and varied possibilities of creating ‘Cyborg Plants’ has been investigated by Harpreet Sareen of […]
Tag: flies
Stripes and tails against flies
“The Surprising Reason Zebras Have Stripes,” Ed Yong’s essay in The Atlantic, celebrates the most recently published research about how some large mammals manage to protect themselves against flies. Tim Caro and colleagues experimented with striped blankets, publishing their story in the research journal PLoS ONE. Ig Nobel Prize winners Gábor Horváth, Susanne Äkesson, and […]
Harvesting Midges for Fertilizer (research study)
In many parts of the world, e.g. N. W. Scotland, New Zealand, British Columbia and Nova Scotia (etc etc) there are almost incalculable numbers of pesky biting midges. A colossal nuisance to tourists and locals alike. But perhaps they could be put to good use – by capturing them and then using them as fertilizer? […]
Effect of Explosion-Puffed Coffee on Fruit Flies [research study]
Fruit flies can be measurably affected by explosion-puffed coffee, suggests this new study: “Effect of Explosion-Puffed Coffee on Locomotor Activity and Behavioral Patterns in Drosophila melanogaster,” Bong Soo Ko, So Hyun Ahn, Dong Ouk Noh, Ki-Bae Hong, Sung Hee Han, and Hyung Joo Suh, Food Research International, epub 2017. The authors, at several institutions in […]