Scientists from Rice University, Texas, have identified a parasitic plant that preys on both trees and the wasps that use them as a nursery for their young. The team hope that their discovery could one day aid scientists in controlling agricultural pests, and maybe even help target cancer cells.
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Although the scent of freshly-cut grass may SEEM nice, what you're actually smelling is a distress signal. Thanks to a recent-conducted study, scientists from the University of Delaware now believe that such signals could be used to summon insect-eating birds to valuable crops.
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Insects are already known to be a cheap and plentiful source of protein, that can be raised on relatively small amounts of land. If that isn't enough to get you chowin' down on the things, how about this – a recent study indicates that eating crickets may be good for your gastrointestinal tract.
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An impressive Australian trial releasing millions of sterilized male mosquitoes has resulted in a more than 80 percent drop in the population of this disease-spreading insect.
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If you're a fan of insect-inspired robots, then you probably like creations such as RoboBee, VelociRoACH, and Harvard University's HAMR. Should the latter's scurrying around not be enough for you, though, it can now move across the water, sinking itself and walking beneath the surface on command.
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Although it's associated with nasty cigarettes, the tobacco plant is also a potential source of vaccines, biofuel and antibiotics. Now, a chemical from the plant is also being used as a bug repellent for crops, which could replace eco-unfriendly insecticides.
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You know those displays of labelled insects stuck on pins? Well, they decay over time, and sometimes even get eaten BY an insect known as the museum beetle. That's why German scientists have created a more permanent alternative – an automated 3D scanner designed specifically for imaging insects.
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You might remember RoboBee, an insect-sized robot that flies by flapping its wings. Unfortunately, though, it has to be hard-wired to a power source. Well, one of RoboBee's creators has now helped develop RoboFly, which flies without a tether.
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From the time we choose whether to hit the snooze button or get up, we make countless decisions every day, but just how the brain manages this mundane task is still shrouded in mystery. Now, researchers at Oxford University have observed in detail the mechanism that lets fruit flies make decisions.
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Ants have an incredible capacity to work together for the good of the clan, but a freshly discovered species shows just how far they are willing to go. Colobopsis explodens has been observed in the rainforests of southeast Asia making the ultimate sacrifice.
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