How do butterflies eat?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIF you’re lucky enough to be able to get close to a butterfly, you will see that it doesn’t have a mouth. So, how do they eat? Well, a small little pipe, like a straw, which is coiled under its head most of the time is what an adult butterfly uses to suck up all […]
Scientists warns global strike of fall armyworm
Reading Time: 3 minutesKnown to be feeding on many economically important crops, including maize, sugarcane, beet, tomato, potato and cotton, the larvae of the native to the Americas fall armyworm moth already seem to present a huge threat to the world’s yield. SCIENTISTS at Exeter University, United Kingdom looked into the factors and likelihood for the fall armyworm […]
UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM THROUGH GENOMICS…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThreespine stickleback, which occupy lakes across the northern latitudes, are a tiny fish with an outsize impact on evolutionary research. These sticklebacks thrive in both marine and freshwater habitats and exist in most of the inland waters that dot the northern coasts of North America, Europe, and Asia. Significant to scientists, the species has a […]
Scientists invent new sustainable biopolymer technology
Reading Time: 2 minutesA NEW Tel Aviv University study describes a process to make bioplastic polymers that don’t require land or fresh water —resources that are scarce in much of the world. The polymer is derived from microorganisms that feed on seaweed. It is biodegradable, produces zero toxic waste and recycles into organic waste. The invention was the fruit of a multidisciplinary collaboration between Dr Alexander Golberg of TAU’s Porter […]
Melting ice sheets release tonnes of methane into the atmosphere, study
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE Greenland Ice Sheet emits tonnes of methane according to a new study, showing that subglacial biological activity impacts the atmosphere far more than previously thought. An international team of researchers led by the University of Bristol camped for three months next to the Greenland Ice Sheet, sampling the meltwater that runs off a large catchment (> 600 km2) of the Ice Sheet during the summer […]
Why cows are getting a bad rap in lab-grown meat debate
Reading Time: 5 minutesBY ALISON VAN EENENNAAM A BATTLE ROYAL is brewing over what to call animal cells grown in cell culture for food. Should it be in-vitro meat, cellular meat, cultured meat or fermented meat? What about animal-free meat, slaughter-free meat, artificial meat, synthetic meat, zombie meat, lab-grown meat, non-meat or artificial muscle proteins? Then there is […]
Biodiesel from wet biological waste
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN a step toward producing renewable engine fuels that are compatible with existing diesel fuel infrastructure, researchers report they can convert wet biowaste, such as swine manure and food scraps, into a fuel that can be blended with diesel and that shares diesel’s combustion efficiency and emissions profile. The researchers report the findings in the […]
New mathematical model can help save endangered species
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWHAT does the blue whale have in common with the Bengal tiger and the green turtle? They share the risk of extinction and are classified as endangered species. There are multiple reasons for species to die out, and climate changes is among the main reasons. The risk of extinction varies from species to species depending […]
Scientists discover how locusts switch colours in different settings
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTISTS have discovered how locusts change their body colour to adapt to different environments, according to new research published in eLife. The findings, first reported on bioRxiv, reveal a novel ‘palette effect’ mechanism in locusts, whereby a red pigment complex acts as a switch to coordinate between the insects’ green and black colouring. Changes in […]
New approach helps mitigating the effect of climate change on sea turtles
Reading Time: 2 minutesNEW research has reported effective conservation strategies that can mitigate the impacts of climate warming on sea turtle nesting success. In the article published by Scientific Reports, a range of experiments were conducted between 2012 and 2017 in St Eustatius Marine Park in the Dutch Caribbean by Swansea University and Wageningen University & Research in association with St Eustatius National Parks, Groningen University and Deakin University in Australia. […]