Scientists Create Zombie Cockroaches

Another instance of the sick, yet fascinating, side of the insect world…

Slashdot: “Zombie insects might sound like a B-movie plot device
(quicktime video) but to the emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa
), they’re a tried and tested way to provide food for their hungry
larvae. The wasp relies on cockroaches for its grisly life cycle but
unlike many venomous predators, which paralyze their victims before
eating them, the wasp’s sting leaves the cockroach able to walk, but unable to initiate its own movement.
Researchers have discovered that the wasps sting the cockroaches once
to subdue them, then administer another, more precise sting right into
their victim’s brain. The venom works to block a neurotransmitter
called octopamine with a similar action to dopamine,
which is involved in preparations to execute complex behaviors such as
walking. Then the wasp grabs the cockroach’s antenna and leads it back
to the nest ‘like a dog on a leash’, says one researcher. The team
found that they could restore spontaneous walking behavior in stung
cockroaches by giving them a compound that reactivates octopamine
receptors in the insects’ central nervous system. Researchers were also
able to create their own zombies by injecting unstung cockroaches with
a compound that blocks the receptors producing a similar effect to that
of the venom.”

Plants form networks to communicate

Boing Boing:

“Researchers at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands have
found that certain types of plants form underground networks of runners
that they use for communication with neighboring plants of the same
species. From Science Daily:

Recently [Josef] Stuefer and his colleagues were the first to
demonstrate that clover plants warn each other via the network links if
enemies are nearby. If one of the plants is attacked by caterpillars,
the other members of the network are warned via an internal signal.
Once warned, the intact plants strengthen their chemical and mechanical
resistance so that they are less attractive for advancing caterpillars.”

Link (Via ComDig)

Germs That Go Into Space Return Deadlier Than Ever

New scifi flick, anyone?

Neatorama:

“What happen when germs go into space on a rocket and come back to Earth? They become stronger and deadlier than ever:

Scientists wanted to see how space travel affects germs, so they took some along — carefully wrapped — for the ride.

The result: Mice fed the space germs were three times more
likely to get sick and died quicker than others fed identical germs
that had remained behind on Earth.”

Link - via Super Punch

Google’s new astronomy search tool: “Sky”

Boing Boing:

Xeni Jardin: Snip from New York Times article by Miguel Helft:

Google is unveiling within Google Earth today a new service called Sky that will allow users to view the skies as seen from Earth. Like Google Earth, Sky will let users fly around and zoom in, exposing increasingly detailed imagery of some 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies.

“You will be able to browse into the sky like never before,” said Carol Christian, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute, a nonprofit academic consortium that supports the Hubble Space Telescope.

While other programs allow users to explore the skies, they typically combine a mix of representations of stars and galaxies that are overlaid with photographs, Ms. Christian said. “These are really the images of the sky. Everything is real.”

Link to article, and you can get Sky by downloading the latest edition of Google Earth: Link.

Fishhack: Wiggle Rig

Cool Tools:

“I love bass fishing, but often I am frustrated because I can’t get
the action I want on plastic worms and lures. Wiggle Rig gets the most
outstanding lifelike wiggle on a lure that I have ever seen. It was
designed as a dropshot rig with a twist. Below your hook and attached
to the weight is a special elastic made with spectra fiber (making it
much stronger than general elastic). Move your rod tip and the action
of the “SpecTastic” (the green-blue strip below the lure in the photo
above) creates a stretch and release motion that allows your bait to
move much more fluidly and with a greater range of action than just
fishing line would. Plastics become almost lifelike. After viewing the videos, I just had to give them a try. I will never fish without one again.”

– Doug Mainor

Wiggle Rig
$3+
(depends on kit + shipping)
Available from and manufactured by SpecTastic Tackle Company

Gardening: How to grow a bonsai tree

Lifehacker:

If
you’ve ever wanted to grow a bonsai tree, you’re going to want to check
out the Bonsai Primer, one of the oldest and most complete guides to
growing and keeping a Bonsai on the Web. Bonsai trees are relatively
simple to take care of, and they’re great starter projects for anyone
who’s looking to develop their green thumb.

Everything is included here: how to find a bonsai, how to pick the
right one, care, etc. There’s also a really cool photo gallery where
you can see what your Bonsai might look like if you do everything right
(no pressure there).

The Bonsai Primer

When Sharks Sneak up behind you…

Holy. Frak.

This is perhaps the scariest picture I have seen in months….prolly a fake, but still…

Digg: “Picture which shows you why you should always watch your back… even when you’re underwater.”

Man’s face infested by larvae

O.M.G.

Boing Boing:

David Pescovitz:
Aaron Dallas of Colorado visited doctors complaining of bleeding little
bumps on his head. Turns out though that the bumps were bot fly larvae
moving around under his skin. They took up residence in his head after
being inserted by a mosquito that big him, most likely while he was
visiting Belize. From Metro.co.uk:

‘I’d put my hand back there and feel them moving. I thought it was blood coursing through my head,’ said Dallas, of Carbondale.

‘I could hear them. I actually thought I was going crazy….’

The parasites, which were living in a pit 2- to 3- millimeters wide, were removed Thursday.

Link (via Fortean Times)

Colosseum Planter

Neatorama:

Talking about the Romans: here’s a simple way to add a touch of ancient Rome to your garden: the Colosseum planter!

Link (they also have a Leaning Tower of Pisa birdfeeder) - via The Green Head

DARPA’s zombie-shark trainer looking at non-military applications

Engadget: “Earlier this year we brought you news of an exciting DARPA-funded project whose goal was to take your common, household shark and turn it into a remote-controllable spy capable of gathering critical military intelligence such as the location of enemy mines and submarines. And sure enough, Boston University’s Jelle Atema and his team learned how to crudely guide these kings of the sea using either electrical stimulation to mimic their natural neural processes or — our favorite — little gadgets attached to their noses that release delicious-smelling squid juice on cue. While Professor Atema was able to make a good deal of headway in his research, biologists still have a long way to go before they fully understand how sharks use odor stimuli to navigate, and DARPA funding ran out before any more progress could be made at BU: the zombie-shark project recently got sucked into the black hole that is classified military research. Despite the lack of support from Uncle Sam, however, Atema is eager to raise fresh funding in order to leverage his achievements into useful civilian applications; remote-control sharks could potentially be used to track fish populations, changes in ocean temperature, or chemical spills. But consider yourself warned: once we’re able to lead these creatures around by the nose, so to speak, it’s only a matter of time before some mad scientists (read: DARPA) equip them with bionic limbs, turning them into deadly, mythical land sharks; i.e. next time someone rings your doorbell and you hear a little voice whisper “candygram” from the other side, you’d better call animal control and then run like hell to grab that harpoon you keep in the attic. For more details about this project (but unfortunately, no mention of that land shark aspect we fabricated), check out the mini-documentary at the Read link..

READ