tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23297007108413165562024-02-07T08:32:56.176-08:00Still a few bugs in the systemAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-7771112389332463982015-01-24T05:18:00.003-08:002015-01-24T22:32:10.162-08:00Small lives of the turning yearI've recently been lucky enough to make a friend who feels as passionately about reptiles as I do about insects, who understands the urge to complain about Tumblr photoshops and sympathizes with my complaint that they used THE WRONG TYPE OF MAGGOT in the peach in the film Labyrinth instead of edging slowly away and suddenly becoming very very busy whenever I contact her. We were discussing our favorite creatures and I realised that while there are plenty of insects and other invertebrates whose biology I find fascinating, my personal favourites amongst the ones I encounter in my own garden and landscape are the ones that I strongly associate with a particular time of year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVU-PLnI6WrscyEKz-_l626-slp2IpTON2KhDtRaN5qoc0inPB-RkDFQFn1U0ZcY3jZdAt4-3UlkEs61gmS1jKvsPxN9Z1qWw5f9POe_D152T6thN_RwBZRmnvj_fC4zyfgKP4fdBLFOQ/s1600/Cockchafer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVU-PLnI6WrscyEKz-_l626-slp2IpTON2KhDtRaN5qoc0inPB-RkDFQFn1U0ZcY3jZdAt4-3UlkEs61gmS1jKvsPxN9Z1qWw5f9POe_D152T6thN_RwBZRmnvj_fC4zyfgKP4fdBLFOQ/s1600/Cockchafer.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male maybug, <i>Melolontha melolontha, </i>image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockchafer#mediaviewer/File:Cockchafer.JPG" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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Undoubtedly my favorite insect is the <b><span style="font-size: large;">Maybug</span></b>, <i>Melolontha melolontha</i>. Although it's not <a href="http://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/true-bugs" target="_blank">technically a bug</a>, and technically it's a pest because the larvae eat crop roots (less of an issue now as it was almost wiped out last century) I absolutely adore these big bumbling beetles. They fly about in the afternoon and at dusk, buzzing like little bomber planes, and crash most unaerobatically into anything in their path with a loud thump. The males also have amazing little feathery antennae, the fronds of which increase their surface area to pick up the females' scent, allowing them to locate a mate.<br />
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I think my love for them may have developed as a child - there are very few insects in Britain large and docile enough to be picked up and petted, and they'll happily explore your hand on tiny pinscratch claws. (Sadly they were apparently also a favourite with children in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockchafer#Cultural_references" target="_blank">less enlightened times</a>, who apparently came up with all sorts of horrible things to do to them.) And last but by no means least, their common name, cockchafer, sounds rather rude!<br />
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As their name suggests, maybugs usually start to fly in May. As well as being fascinating in their own right, to me they've always held associations with the beginning of summer, with the arrival of hot lazy days and long golden evenings. I rarely see them now living in London - in my eight years here I've found a single one - and I miss these holiday heralds in the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNUUUMz-JrOEhtaapCXkqAdkoHtQ1x4tCTEKmppENS_6Whg-zqcEUe8CHyzhrugpXVEaRZ-FVpyid_79rwTJM5NfAzBUKynKUl42Re8eSpcgv8H_zYFAukdmTG_1rekzj24CYVGyGZqU/s1600/flying+ant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNUUUMz-JrOEhtaapCXkqAdkoHtQ1x4tCTEKmppENS_6Whg-zqcEUe8CHyzhrugpXVEaRZ-FVpyid_79rwTJM5NfAzBUKynKUl42Re8eSpcgv8H_zYFAukdmTG_1rekzj24CYVGyGZqU/s1600/flying+ant.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winged black ants, image by Rebecca Nesbit</td></tr>
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For most of the year the <b><span style="font-size: large;">Common Black Ant</span></b> <i>Lasius niger </i>seems fairly unremarkable, but a closer look reveals it to be anything but. For a start they farm aphids, protecting them from predators in order to "milk" them for the honeydew they produce. As every gardener knows, aphids can be pests of plants, sucking the sap and introducing disease. Plant sap is very rich in sugar but has a comparatively low concentration of amino acids, the building blocks of protein, so to get all the protein they need aphids have to take in far more sugar than they could possibly use. They get rid of the excess by excreting a concentrated sugary solution known as honeydew, which to an ant serves as a very convenient sweet energy drink. </div>
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Interestingly, this process is thought to be the reason plants evolved sweet nectar to attract pollinators - having ants guarding their tiny herds benefited the plants too, as ants will eat herbivorous insects as happily as they'll eat aphid predators. Obviously though having their sap sucked by the aphids was a bit of a downside to the arrangement, so plants evolved ways of producing their own sugary secretions, mimicking the aphids to attract the ants. Over time the additional benefit of using highly mobile insects to transport their pollen between plants producing these sugary secretions emerged.<br />
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Incidentally this entire system of interactions is utterly fascinating and deserves far more than two paragraph's worth of explanation, but I haven't managed to find a single layperson's introduction to link to so I may have to write my own.<br />
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What makes common black ants such a dramatic seasonal indicator though is their mating flights; every year between June and September vast swarms of winged males and immature Queens emerge from their nests to mate and establish new colonies. Although a <a href="http://www.societyofbiology.org/get-involved/biologyweek/flying-ant-survey" target="_blank">survey </a>carried out by the Society of Biology revealed that ants did not all mate on a single day across the country <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/24489427" target="_blank">as had commonly been supposed</a>, mating flights are coordinated in local areas to produce localised "flying ant days".<br />
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When I was a child my family and another used to go on holiday together to the Isle of Wight every summer, driving down with a gaggle of children crammed into the footwells of the car in a way that would be illegal now and probably was then to be honest. We always seemed to manage to arrive in time for the flying ants and while everyone else was picking them out of sandwiches or scraping them off sunscreened limbs, a firm association somehow became cemented in my brain between flying ants and all the good things in life.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzT6p38aZT-4BiOODccanaMUWDKnel2rQka1e7iKy-ahmuqvziidUfGwVGv2-fjIcD_ZRccyZwqe_PkFDaM_FTXpNbhzzwqx1eZSZ9ju_l9orHj_yRQiL6sLpPBhj4rXkeB43tYIjFBs/s1600/Omocestus.viridulus.female.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzT6p38aZT-4BiOODccanaMUWDKnel2rQka1e7iKy-ahmuqvziidUfGwVGv2-fjIcD_ZRccyZwqe_PkFDaM_FTXpNbhzzwqx1eZSZ9ju_l9orHj_yRQiL6sLpPBhj4rXkeB43tYIjFBs/s1600/Omocestus.viridulus.female.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female common green grasshopper, <i>Omocestus viridulus</i>, <br />
image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omocestus_viridulus#mediaviewer/File:Omocestus.viridulus.female.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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I know I'm cheating a little here by not picking a single species, but others insect I associate very strongly with high summer are the <b><span style="font-size: large;">crickets and grasshoppers</span></b> (there's a good explanation of the difference <a href="http://www.wildguideuk.com/orthoptera.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. Grasshoppers are active during the day, unlike crickets which tend to be active at dusk, and they are most active in warm weather. As warm weather is also when I'm most likely to be found sprawling on the grass, in summer when the sun has baked the grass roots almost to straw is the time when we're most likely to bump into each other and nothing says "camping holiday" quite like having a grasshopper suddenly materialise on the page of the book you're reading only to spring away again at the slightest shifting of your fingers. And there can be few people for whom their trilling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omocestus_viridulus#Song" target="_blank">song </a>doesn't evoke lazy summer days.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-JadbMKB24rYDb2HyTGczc4L4aFJ4VPJayiVkJj5vx1gcIAJ7KbQkvXHty7V1NEPo_tTNJnYprig7JcCPn8zzohgNbfC5aEenFtr2DdHKq_n5W4A2NVF-VK0Vo-itlFRB45vIGiyj8U/s1600/Araneus_diadematus2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-JadbMKB24rYDb2HyTGczc4L4aFJ4VPJayiVkJj5vx1gcIAJ7KbQkvXHty7V1NEPo_tTNJnYprig7JcCPn8zzohgNbfC5aEenFtr2DdHKq_n5W4A2NVF-VK0Vo-itlFRB45vIGiyj8U/s1600/Araneus_diadematus2.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female <i>Araneus diadematus.</i> Image from Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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As summer comes to an end and the autumn evenings draw in, misty and mysterious, Britain's spiders really come into their own, festooning the garden with their silken webs. The most skilful weaver is the <b><span style="font-size: large;">garden spider</span></b>, <i><a href="http://wiki.britishspiders.org.uk/index.php5?title=Araneus_diadematus" target="_blank">Araneus diadematus</a>.</i><br />
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The spiders themselves are as beautiful as their webs, with a wide variety of colours from restrained neutral tones of taupe and dove grey to rich deep chocolate and mahogany or sunny gold, and when the females are gravid their abdomens are large enough to notice the cross-shaped markings and really appreciate the intricate stippled patterns. There are some gorgeous pictures showing various different colourations <a href="http://www.nicksspiders.com/nicksspiders/araneusdiadematus.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, or I would really recommend doing a Google image search for all the beautiful pictures I can't share because they're not public domain.<br />
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Special mention too should be given to the various species of house spiders which wander indoors in autumn in search of a mate and instead tend to meet a swift and crunchy end at the paws of the cat, who unfortunately views most invertebrates as entertaining snacks. The Natural History Museum produces a handy guide to the most common species likely to be found indoors which is <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources-rx/files/spiders-in-your-home-id-guide-133363.pdf" target="_blank">available here (pdf)</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TaZm807pwkW7mEbVwUtAprPL7RIVWwj_PDK4r511uBXLspeDl8o7WwgFJzJnnOdXf6BOTIAc4mY9fKvGLWkY1W7o9Yp6qIvMqqNjIqU4ivCP-2VTD_po2g7UuttjHy738zUMQB7P5yY/s1600/Real_Compost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TaZm807pwkW7mEbVwUtAprPL7RIVWwj_PDK4r511uBXLspeDl8o7WwgFJzJnnOdXf6BOTIAc4mY9fKvGLWkY1W7o9Yp6qIvMqqNjIqU4ivCP-2VTD_po2g7UuttjHy738zUMQB7P5yY/s1600/Real_Compost.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compost, image from Wikipedia. Okay I'm cheating a bit with this one but I defy anyone to find an artistic, Creative Commons licensed image of a worm.</td></tr>
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Invertebrate life is less apparent in winter, when most cold-blooded creatures burrow down into the ground or huddle in cracks and crevices to wait for the return of the warm days. One species I still encounter on a weekly basis though is the horde of <b><span style="font-size: large;">compo</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">sting worms</span></b> <i>(</i><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: #fffffe; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;"><i><a href="http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/composting-worms.html" target="_blank">Eisenia spp</a>)</i> that live in my <a href="http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/www.gardenorganic.org.uk/files/resources/fflp/A53-Using-wormeries.pdf" target="_blank">garden wormery (pdf)</a>, eating through our kitchen waste and <a href="http://www.wormcity.co.uk/wormfaq.htm" target="_blank">producing compost</a>. Although they slow down in winter the wormery is insulated and the decay of compost making generates its own heat so they keep working all year round. </span></span></span><br />
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Worms may not be the most charismatic creatures in the garden it's true, but I find it amazing that something that is essentially a stripy tube can bring about such a miraculous transmutation, turning mouldering kitchen leftovers into dark, crumbly compost that you'll want to sniff deeply at and run through your fingers when it's warmed by the springtime sun. Their distant cousins the earthworms do this vital recycling job on a much larger scale in the garden soil, keeping nutrients flowing ceaselessly through the ecosystem. I find the whole concept of nutrient cycles deeply comforting on an almost spiritual level as a reminder that we're all connected, humans and soil and microorganisms and vegetables, we're all made of the same things on a fundamental level, and we have worms to thank for the fact that these fundamental building blocks are constantly in motion, in flux through a greater whole.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hR3sniEpPZ4EFlXtWDE0eu2ssJ6rZcGcQWChZ0t4V8kpCSZjTdr0gVDLsFGWiB088Az5A_YfOBAQvPQOPfbUQQ_oTexZ1321FkNBKKdg8Xq04sdnTjiRgy5S0u9PvVxkrRJjhMm6Rbk/s1600/buff+tailed+bumblebee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hR3sniEpPZ4EFlXtWDE0eu2ssJ6rZcGcQWChZ0t4V8kpCSZjTdr0gVDLsFGWiB088Az5A_YfOBAQvPQOPfbUQQ_oTexZ1321FkNBKKdg8Xq04sdnTjiRgy5S0u9PvVxkrRJjhMm6Rbk/s1600/buff+tailed+bumblebee.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buff-tailed bumblebee, <i> Bombus terrestris, </i>image from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010-04-28_(35)_Erdhummel,_Buff-tailes_bumblebee,_Bombus_terrestris.JPG" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://beestrawbridge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/this-is-such-exciting-time-of-year.html" target="_blank">Some of the first insects to reappear in spring </a> are the <span style="font-size: large;"><b>bumblebees</b></span>. There are numerous common species in Britain, which can be <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/identification-guides-and-keys/bumblebees/" target="_blank">distinguished by their markings</a>. Unlike honeybees, only the queens of these fuzzy, large-bodied bee species survive the winter, by hibernating underground. In spring she must first build her own nest and forage for nectar and pollen herself before she can start creating her brood of minions.<br />
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All cold-blooded creatures are sluggish on chilly early spring mornings and struggle to get moving (I can sympathise) but bumblebees are able to decouple their flight muscles from their wings and use them to generate body heat which allows them to fly earlier in the year than most other insects, as this thermal video shows.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH1QGeVnFM4IGWOVvCPCkWnuk6RR_1yIedspYAu4N2Uraq1l_0UWdNBBYWiwqJt6cEYvRg7w2Btd6nh3C-DG3pCLZT1lPDWElt7ZxeHkqaMb-scRowZSYkOSg1LJpy9g_KzhYeOsFZ7k/s1600/beefly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH1QGeVnFM4IGWOVvCPCkWnuk6RR_1yIedspYAu4N2Uraq1l_0UWdNBBYWiwqJt6cEYvRg7w2Btd6nh3C-DG3pCLZT1lPDWElt7ZxeHkqaMb-scRowZSYkOSg1LJpy9g_KzhYeOsFZ7k/s1600/beefly.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large bee-fly <i>Bombylius major</i>, image from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grosser_Wollschweber_Bombylius_major_2.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>.</td></tr>
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Another spring arrival often confused with bumblebees are the various species of <b><span style="font-size: large;">bee-flies</span></b>. In spite of their appearance these are actually diptera not bees, true two-winged flies like houseflies or greenbottles. Their appearance mimics that of bees to deter predators, and like bees the adults feed on nectar using their long proboscis to visit early spring flowers like primroses and violets. A lot of people who've contacted me to identify them find this proboscis quite alarming, but it's for flowers only and they don't harm humans. Bees themselves are a different matter though - bee-flies are parasites of solitary bees, shooting their eggs into bees' tunnels where <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/biodiversity/loss-of-habitat/bombylius-major/biology/index.html" target="_blank">the vampire-like larve parasities the young bees</a>. Which just goes to show you can't trust anything cute and fluffy.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/biodiversity/loss-of-habitat/bombylius-major/" target="_blank">large bee-fly</a> incidentally has the glorious binomial name of <i>Bombylius major,</i> which always makes me think of a rather pompous and portly retired military gentleman.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sbFxFxK9bfFH8Q1wbhAY3dMb2DFmrc9gpAezwvlDb3JJQXn-ilcXY6oKV5yvJK6cG-KHOZazAbcxNDCqEzwftpEBIaKUCeC082WheLEsjIJKmlGVuRDOstqF-oKBCoIJqIZNVzMeq8o/s1600/hildegard+von+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sbFxFxK9bfFH8Q1wbhAY3dMb2DFmrc9gpAezwvlDb3JJQXn-ilcXY6oKV5yvJK6cG-KHOZazAbcxNDCqEzwftpEBIaKUCeC082WheLEsjIJKmlGVuRDOstqF-oKBCoIJqIZNVzMeq8o/s1600/hildegard+von+b.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">13th century depiction of the turning of the seasons from <br />Liber Divinorum Operum by Hildegard von Bingen</span></span></td></tr>
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I have been through some difficult times in the past, and through them I took great comfort from the changing of the seasons, from the knowledge that nothing was permanent and that winter would inevitably be followed by spring. It was reassuring to know that whatever happened to me, whatever struggles I may have had or mistakes I made in my personal life, the Earth would continue on its path around the sun. The days would lengthen and shorten in their predictable cycles, sap would rise and fall, living things would wake and rise and feed and breed and sleep just as they had always done and would always do. The constant novelty of the turning year gave me reasons to hope too, the knowledge that if I just held on a little longer I would see snowdrops and daffodils and hawthorn blossom, I would taste strawberries warm from the sun and English apples and little oranges smelling of warmth and spice and Christmas, I would see bees on lavender and peacock butterflies and cobwebs like jeweled lace.<br />
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The tiny invertebrate lives beneath our feet are so often overlooked in the when we appreciate the endless variety of the circling year. I hope this post will encourage some people to look for them, and note them, and smile.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-13151177342371839492015-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:002015-01-05T08:00:30.136-08:00Natural History: not just for boys!<br />
<i>Hat tip to <a href="https://noodlemaz.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Marianne </a>for bringing this to my attention.</i><br />
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As a child I was lucky enough to grow up close enough to London's <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Natural History Museum</a> to be regularly handed a Sainsburys carrier bag full of Capri Sun and small plastic cheeses, packed on a school bus and taken on trips to it. Once the car sickness and the lingering suspicion that Gareth had called me a rude word (even if I wasn't quite sure what it meant) had worn off it was always a thrilling experience. Imagine if you will being a tiny child who not only thinks animals are THE BEST THING EVER but is slightly light headed from having been sick over Lara's pencil case on the journey in, walking into a building that looks like a fabulous fairytale castle to be greeted by a Diplodocus skeleton. I remember being awestruck by how thick the leg bones were, the sheer mass of these creatures I'd only seen in picture books suddenly becoming tangible, the blackened bones hinting at an age I can barely comprehend even now. It was magic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzKWWNVQhiMBzHqPQamx08YH9Sl7wS3oOysTcTCaZvuZDY5EERHr66JQRZLij7U0Byj0D3CT4Nje6hAQBh76Kj7XzAxyMwSFVHUBJdkWbHzcoHPctOVYIG94UreWIb_yNe7n2P1yjoec/s1600/dippy-banner_125459_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzKWWNVQhiMBzHqPQamx08YH9Sl7wS3oOysTcTCaZvuZDY5EERHr66JQRZLij7U0Byj0D3CT4Nje6hAQBh76Kj7XzAxyMwSFVHUBJdkWbHzcoHPctOVYIG94UreWIb_yNe7n2P1yjoec/s1600/dippy-banner_125459_2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from http://www.nhm.ac.uk/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was also, as I was vaguely aware of even then, something that was supposed to be for boys. The books I'd first seen dinosaurs in, the Top Trumps dinosaur cards I played with, even my first microscope, were meant to be for my brother but were gradually appropriated, either stealthily or ocassionally with extreme violence. But that was over two decades ago, and nowadays little girls are encouraged to have an interest in science and natural history right?<br />
<br />
Unfortunately not.<br />
<br />
The Natural History Museum has recently licensed Marks And Spencer to produce a range of children's clothes with its images of dinosaurs and insects on. They're pretty cool; I won't lie, if this T-shirt came in adult sizes I'd want one even if very few of the "bugs" on there are <a href="http://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/true-bugs" target="_blank">true bugs</a> (I'm half-pedant, on my father's side).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nUQDRucRmRsQmcHKcKDhOHeN3mt3jf5FRrychJVba6o9dl4G4rqbo9ybMkiHLp2ScsYUXTAtvcSFL7PG6-kewoR3OmoPvBVQzkNH0v80IvVyYlKPepAKXFy_FWmBTwAsClMXF-S1LYI/s1600/bug+expert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nUQDRucRmRsQmcHKcKDhOHeN3mt3jf5FRrychJVba6o9dl4G4rqbo9ybMkiHLp2ScsYUXTAtvcSFL7PG6-kewoR3OmoPvBVQzkNH0v80IvVyYlKPepAKXFy_FWmBTwAsClMXF-S1LYI/s1600/bug+expert.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/cotton-rich-natural-history-museum-bug-expert-t-shirt-2-8-years-/p/p22358482" target="_blank">M&S</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unfortunately I'm not just excluded from buying this on grounds of my age and theoretical maturity. The Natural History Museum range on the M&S website is marketed exclusively at boys. While there is of course nothing stopping anyone buying a boys' shirt for a girl or vice versa, segregating these t-shirts into gender categories not only means people browsing the M&S website for girls' clothes won't see them but also reinforces the subliminal message that dinosaurs and insects, that cool things that are fierce and messy, are for boys and not girls.<br />
<br />
And quite franlkly that's just sad, that there's a whole fascinating area of the natural world that girls are slowly and steadily given the message isn't for them to experence. I've done a few public engagement events introducing children to insects, and one of the saddest realisations I've had doing this has been that there's not much difference in interest between boys and girls among primary school kids, but by secondary school the girls have learned that they're supposed to shriek and be disgusted and back away while the boys are still happy to investigate.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosSSOKz0Fg-r-uWfdiW8z3Ln9Iau9PPpu4rOysmy4uI_GlJOhaa1L3D3fD7CcV8X8Ey6XLZ61_Xn6BRo5glDOKoyBMI-ylnt4DwdESvHbljKGw0b5eoD06YQwL_2f_5YoogyZ7QAirIw/s1600/boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosSSOKz0Fg-r-uWfdiW8z3Ln9Iau9PPpu4rOysmy4uI_GlJOhaa1L3D3fD7CcV8X8Ey6XLZ61_Xn6BRo5glDOKoyBMI-ylnt4DwdESvHbljKGw0b5eoD06YQwL_2f_5YoogyZ7QAirIw/s1600/boys.jpg" height="291" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from<a href="http://www.letclothesbeclothes.org/" target="_blank"> Let Clothes Be Clothes</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm not the only one annoyed about this. <a href="http://www.letclothesbeclothes.org/when-it-comes-to-childrens-clothes-sexism-isnt-extinct/" target="_blank">Let Clothes Be Clothes</a> (the sister campaign of <a href="http://www.lettoysbetoys.org.uk/" target="_blank">Let Toys Be Toys</a>) has launched a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/marks-and-spencer-make-sexism-in-the-design-and-marketing-of-children-s-clothing-extinct?recruiter=2508489&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition" target="_blank">petition </a>to both M&S and the Natural History Museum, urging them to make this range available to children of all genders which I'd urge everyone reading this to sign. And to those who would argue that this is just an issue of "political correctness gone mad" and it's children themselves who exhibit these preferences, remember that it was a seven-year-old girl herself whose protests convinced the publishers of "<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/02/publisher-changes-titles-after-seven-year-old-girls-complaint" target="_blank">The Baddest Book of Bugs for Boys</a>" to change the title.<br />
<br />
After all, probably the most famous dinosaur kids will encounter is herself female.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVI7-teZpNyiFWcmyVPfa_zVKEaaU_H_DXVHWApa3tvovJeLj0gSk3WW8nIXm3vwwGb0ROdv5RCp90nfBremjFDfKmHiDnIGbBIoeMNAXF_0yxFV4RpGOAFcqBY5GwAWh7Ff1o9y1Fjw/s1600/clever+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVI7-teZpNyiFWcmyVPfa_zVKEaaU_H_DXVHWApa3tvovJeLj0gSk3WW8nIXm3vwwGb0ROdv5RCp90nfBremjFDfKmHiDnIGbBIoeMNAXF_0yxFV4RpGOAFcqBY5GwAWh7Ff1o9y1Fjw/s1600/clever+girl.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-83133981803000343612014-03-21T11:08:00.000-07:002014-03-21T13:35:13.484-07:00So much science communication fail todayA helpful guide for anyone looking to communicate research or research priorities:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/gender-bending-drones-fight-queensland-fruit-fly" target="_blank">Don't use a transphobic slur because you think it makes a flippant headline</a>. Not only is it offensive, it's also not appropriate to apply the term "gender" to non-human animals. Here is the <a href="http://www.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en/" target="_blank">WHO definition of sex and gender</a>:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>"Sex"</b> refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.<br />
<b>"Gender"</b> refers to the socially constructed roles,
behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers
appropriate for men and women.</blockquote>
<ul>
No mention of insects in there.
<li><a href="http://www.buglife.org.uk/blog/matt-shardlow-ceo/it-%E2%80%98cos-i-small" target="_blank">Don't compare misplaced conservation priorities to racism</a>. It may be a clever rhetorical device to you, but it's something that has an enormous impact on other peoples' lives. </li>
<li>And for crying out loud, if you've done a study on coconut proteomics, <a href="http://phylogenomics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/is-sexxing-up-your-scientific-journal.html" target="_blank">do not use a picture of a woman in a coconut bikini as a graphic abstract</a>. In case you just woke up after going into a coma in the 1950s, <a href="https://twitter.com/CackleofRad/status/447063846771892224" target="_blank">here is a helpful flowchart</a> showing when it would be appropriate to include a picture of a woman in a coconut bikini in a scientific research paper:</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BjRKMzNCIAEImR7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BjRKMzNCIAEImR7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Seriously people, your subject may be fruit flies or endangered insects or coconuts, but you don't get to forget that your audience are people.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-81951768080410183932014-03-03T13:51:00.001-08:002014-03-03T13:51:34.549-08:00Ticked off at the newsToday I heard the sad news that the <a href="http://www.bada-uk.org/" target="_blank">Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness UK</a> charity is ceasing operation as a charity due to lack of funds. We in the UK are comparatively lucky in vector-borne disease stakes, able to enjoy the great outdoors without too much concern about being bitten by something that'll give us something 'orrible, but one that we do have to deal with is Lyme disease which along and its relatives, transmitted by the bites of <a href="http://www.bada-uk.org/tick-family" target="_blank">ticks </a>which contrary to popular belief are arachnids not insects. Lyme disease can be debilitating (as is shown by my <a href="http://axesnyarn.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/negative-spoons.html" target="_blank">friend's blog about living with it) </a>and it is still often initially not correctly diagnosed, which is why the campaigning work of BADA UK has been so vital and their closure is such a tragic loss particularly now that the incidence of Lyme disease<a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/356/1411/1045" target="_blank"> appears to be on the increase.</a><br />
<br />
This campaigning was so important because there is a lot of misinformation out there about ticks and the diseases they transmit, and not just this sort of thing:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBhe-EZEpVX4hBd9mLVx1C6d3vIQBqnPDvW4UlQ0mwefPq2PZb2khW9bg7P13ceRrw9G_m_8tie-urvtLtWLBZTKLmex7JEWsBoxMjg0iLPFF9eC1Vim28Er2QvAXZY9gtD_ZJ9u9pLk/s1600/ticks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBhe-EZEpVX4hBd9mLVx1C6d3vIQBqnPDvW4UlQ0mwefPq2PZb2khW9bg7P13ceRrw9G_m_8tie-urvtLtWLBZTKLmex7JEWsBoxMjg0iLPFF9eC1Vim28Er2QvAXZY9gtD_ZJ9u9pLk/s1600/ticks.jpg" height="297" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I spend more time on Pinterest than I probably should and I've encountered some quite horrifying pins describing this one weird trick some [nurse/mom/other trustworthy-sounding person] has discovered to remove ticks. Needless to say the vast majority of them are a very bad idea, which is a serious problem as incorrect removal can increase chances of disease transmission. Fortunately some colleagues of mine recently published a <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7123" target="_blank">review paper</a> on best practice:<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Avoiding ticks</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Encouragingly a randomised controlled trial showed that infections were less common in people who received education about ticks. Congratulations, by reading this post you've just joined the lucky group! The best way of preventing disease transmission is not to get bitten in the first place. Cover up: wear trousers and tuck them into you socks - I know it looks daft but you can always pretend you're Tintin. And if you're feeling really fancy you can even get clothes impregnated with the insecticide permethrin which has bee shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of tick bites, although it does need retreating frequently to remain effective.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1X2QJtXmzL_NVXAVUtd9rBfc0npH9WoLkJ1t-fGJmV-hIMHr0_qwZ_ClegrofmRplibaLXR98U3ZUvJWguCiodqeeAoRfIRhcqtQzhmtp4hK5Wojqzgh94X0xJKPm2xmp5DkQmGZXqKA/s1600/tintin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1X2QJtXmzL_NVXAVUtd9rBfc0npH9WoLkJ1t-fGJmV-hIMHr0_qwZ_ClegrofmRplibaLXR98U3ZUvJWguCiodqeeAoRfIRhcqtQzhmtp4hK5Wojqzgh94X0xJKPm2xmp5DkQmGZXqKA/s1600/tintin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone's favourite racist, cultural imperialist boy reporter.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next line of defense is to use a repellant, a substance that beasties find unpleasant smelling that you can rub on your skin to put them off their lunch. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-menthane-3,8-diol" target="_blank"><i>Trans</i>-p-methane-3,8-diol (PMD)</a>, or lemon eucalyptus oil to its friends, has been shown to be highly repellent toward ticks and in laboratory studies was still providing some protection 48 hours later. By contrast there is little evidence for the effectiveness of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deet" target="_blank">DEET </a>against ticks, and what evidence there is seems to suggest it only has a short-term effect. (It should be noted that this is different from the situation for mosquitoes, <a href="http://www.travelmedicinejournal.com/article/S1477-8939%2813%2900173-7/abstract" target="_blank">against which DEET offers better protection</a>).<br />
<br />
<h3>
Tick removal</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The faster you can remove a tick, the less chance it will have to get bacteria into your bloodstream. Check yourself every few hours for ticks, and - waggles eyebrows suggestively -see if you can find a tick buddy to check the areas you can't see yourself (or more boringly use a mirror).<br />
<br />
Tick removal is the step that seems to have produced the most dangerous home remedies. Trying to suffocate the ticks with petroleum jelly, nail polish or rubbing alcohol is likely to be ineffective as ticks respire very slowly so can keep feeding without air long enough to infect you, and if you do manage to damage or kill a tick by one of these methods or using a lighted match there's a danger that parts of it will be left in your skin, posing an infection risk. (Needless to say combining rubbing alcohol and a lighted match would be a <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/why-kill-it-with-fire-is-a-terrible-terrible-idea/" target="_blank">terrible idea</a>.) BADA has an excellent series of photographs demonstrating correct removal on their very informative website, which will remain active until December 2015: using <a href="http://www.bada-uk.org/correct-tick-removal/tick-removal-fine-tipped-tweezers" target="_blank">tweezers</a>, and using a specialist <a href="http://www.bada-uk.org/correct-tick-removal/tick-removal-tick-removal-tool" target="_blank">removal tool</a>. At present the evidence in humans suggests that the safest method of tick removal in humans is to use fine-tipped tweezers - evidence for the effectiveness of the tick removal tool only comes from veterinary medicine. However, if you're not comfortable with tweezers the removal tool is probably a better bet than any of the other methods out there. <a href="http://www.ticktwister.co.uk/" target="_blank">The TickTwister tool is available to buy here</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
If you've been bitten</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Although the characteristic bull's eye rash is probably the best known Lyme disease symptom, it only appears in around 60% of patients. Other symptoms include:<br />
<ul>
<li>unexplained headaches and neck stiffness, </li>
<li>flu-like symptoms,</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_palsy" target="_blank">facial palsy,</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthralgia" target="_blank">arthralgia</a>, </li>
<li>heart palpitations, </li>
<li>dizziness </li>
</ul>
If you experience any of these within a few weeks of being bitten by a tick, or of being somewhere you know ticks are present even if you didn't notice a bite, you should see a doctor.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT MEDICAL DOCTOR, I'M JUST SOME WEIRDO ON THE INTERNET WHO LIKES POKING THINGS WITH MORE LEGS THAN ME. IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS I CAN'T CONFIRM THIS OR DIAGNOSE YOU, YOU WILL NEED TO SEE YOUR GP.</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bada-uk.org/images/james_gathany_target_lesion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bada-uk.org/images/james_gathany_target_lesion.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bull's eye rash, from BADA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Your GP should be able to carry out further tests, and prescribe a course of prophylactic antibiotics if necessary.<br />
<br />
So get out there and enjoy the countryside, but respect it too: even here in the UK we have disease vectors that could make you very sick if you give them a chance!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-44137836153641734242014-01-21T07:00:00.001-08:002015-01-24T05:21:29.136-08:00Go hug a bug! I recently attended an event organised by a group of open-minded, environmentally conscious people. I realise that makes it sound like a sex party but I assure you it wasn't, I'm being deliberately vague because this isn't a complaint about a specific person or group of people, but a wider problem about our attitude to insects. At one point in the evening I got chatting to a bloke who was clearly a very intelligent person (this is sounding dodgier and dodgier) and evidently passionate about environmental issues. We discussed how the loss of hedgerows was reducing songbird habitats, and whether it was possible to compensate to some degree by growing hedgerow shrubs in gardens. We discussed how little exposure city children got to nature, and how far it was possible to care about the environment if you weren't personally familiar with it. He told me he'd been working on a project to reintroduce willow coppice onto some neglected land that day and that he'd found a cluster of insects on one of the trees that he'd never seen before, which from his description sounded like <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/common-bugs/aphid-watch/" target="_blank">large willow aphids</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ncdL04lKgckz9PpYN5PzQVhJ2w_hb7t5msWOyqkZCFXoT1LIHeyALxAMKrnA1Sw5iZGc6plyPv9Yy1SAgsQxbqSOS9GJtEgWjHQLxoH3DOI9ZcM7lip0L1P10_7-C90gRhkzZwEcAIQ/s1600/large_willow_aphid2_graemelyons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ncdL04lKgckz9PpYN5PzQVhJ2w_hb7t5msWOyqkZCFXoT1LIHeyALxAMKrnA1Sw5iZGc6plyPv9Yy1SAgsQxbqSOS9GJtEgWjHQLxoH3DOI9ZcM7lip0L1P10_7-C90gRhkzZwEcAIQ/s640/large_willow_aphid2_graemelyons.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large willow aphids, winged and wingless forms. Picture from the <a href="http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/" target="_blank">Sussex Wildlife Trust</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Every entomologist loves an easily identified insect, and as a description "it had three triangular spikes on its back" (especially if it was on willow!) is a great deal easier to work with than "it was small and black". Although the large willow aphid is one of Britain's largest and most distinctive aphids its lifecycle is still surprisingly mysterious - no one has ever found a male (<a href="http://simonleather.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/living-inside-your-grandmother-the-wonderful-world-of-aphids/" target="_blank">maybe it does without them</a>) and no one knows where they disappear to for almost half the year. So I told him this, and he in turn told me that he'd killed them, and I asked "WHY?" and did a fairly decent impression of Jenna Marbles.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TsNpLr9JOLVQZuQfIt4ABSPgqNwEDkUGC5pRhd5rwk3OnWnPSPe2bAJt1j-8j7JHm5L4uuvIPjbMNO636iZ-44SGcg2PrO5jH5caklvRNG3rSobuYPfcyS7GYKh-U2Up4bY-2na7WFM/s1600/jenna-face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TsNpLr9JOLVQZuQfIt4ABSPgqNwEDkUGC5pRhd5rwk3OnWnPSPe2bAJt1j-8j7JHm5L4uuvIPjbMNO636iZ-44SGcg2PrO5jH5caklvRNG3rSobuYPfcyS7GYKh-U2Up4bY-2na7WFM/s320/jenna-face.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
He at least looked a bit embarrassed about it, but told me that he always killed insects he didn't recognise because he lived in London, near Heathrow, and assumed that anything that looked odd (for example something with three horns on its back!) must be a dangerous invasive species that had come in on a plane or with some imports. He explained that he'd killed loads of false widow spiders - even if all the spiders he killed were in fact false widows, which I think is unlikely, they're not nearly as dangerous as the <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/you-are-within-3-feet-of-a-spider-right-now/" target="_blank">media makes them out to be</a>. Needless to say, hearing these attitudes from a smart, committed environmentalist made for a very sad entomologist.<br />
<br />
I always find it rather sad that the reaction of so many people, including informed environmentalists who should probably know better, to arthropods is fear and disgust. Not only are these creatures fascinating and, to my eyes at least, beautiful in their intricacy, they are also a vital lynchpin of the ecosystems that support all life on this planet including ourselves and (while this may seem an odd sentiment from someone who studies pest control) the <a href="http://www.buglife.org.uk/bug-facts" target="_blank">sixty percent of invertebrate species that are declining</a> are more vital for us to conserve than cuddly, charismatic mammals like tigers or gorillas could ever be. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
If
we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight,
the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates
were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.’ Sir David
Attenborough - See more at:
http://www.buglife.org.uk/#sthash.xrwYmpio.dpuf</div>
"If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse" - Sir David Attenborough.</blockquote>
<br />
Although it's often assumed that we're hardwired to fear arthropods there is <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/the-infested-mind/" target="_blank">surprisingly little hard evidence</a> for this theory, and it is by no means a universal human experience outside the west - insect collection is something of a<a href="http://www.tofugu.com/2011/06/08/japans-beetle-mania/" target="_blank"> Japanese national obsession</a>, and insects are routinely included in peoples' diets throughout the world (<a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf" target="_blank">very large pdf</a>) as a vital source of nutrients which sadly is increasingly being abandoned due to the adoption of Western prejudices. (The fact that we entomologists don't feel the same way is also awkward for this theory as it rather suggests that we're the next stage of human evolution, and much as I love you all guys if that's the case we're probably doomed as a species. Or at the very least about to become a great deal hairier).<br />
<br />
Sadly I think much of the problem lies with our culture - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/jules-bristow/way-not-to-encourage-an-interest-in-entomology/396073567521" target="_blank">what we're taught at school </a>and what we see and read in the media. So much reporting on arthropods seems to be about <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10193879/The-heat-is-giving-ladybirds-a-taste-for-human-flesh.html" target="_blank">DANGEROUS INVASIVE SPECIES</a> <a href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/361451/False-widow-spider-ate-my-foot-And-experts-warn-of-MORE-attacks" target="_blank">THAT WILL KILL YOU DEAD</a>! or<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/maggots-worms-hair-weave-hoax_n_4191200.html" target="_blank"> at least ruin your hairdo</a> that it's hardly surprising that many people view insects as invasive aliens that will lay eggs in your eyeballs then kill you to death. Even non-scaremongering stories are often negative - can you imagine a famous, popular columnist writing about mammals in this way for example?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://simonleather.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/no-excuse.png?w=300&h=211" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://simonleather.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/no-excuse.png?w=300&h=211" height="243" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://simonleather.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/why-i-joined-the-twitterati-blogs-tweets-talks-making-entomology-visible/" target="_blank">Simon Leather</a>'s post on the importance of communicating through social media for entomologists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So what can we do about it? In the case of the chap in the first paragraph I must confess I got his details through Facebook and sent him a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Complete-British-Insects-Michael/dp/0007179669" target="_blank">Chinery</a>, and am expecting the restraining order any day now. But for the general public the only solution is more engagement and education. There is always a temptation, which I know I've fallen prey to at times, to focus on the horrifying or grotesque in the insect world as a way of grabbing attention. But I'll try to avoid that in future - there's already plenty of that in the media so in the interests of balance I'll try to focus on what incredible, amazing creatures insects are and how they really don't deserve to be squashed on sight.<br />
<br />
Insects need love too. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
If
we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight,
the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates
were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.’ Sir David
Attenborough - See more at:
http://www.buglife.org.uk/#sthash.xrwYmpio.dpuf</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-32004992879044829112013-12-25T09:32:00.000-08:002013-12-25T09:32:00.039-08:00Happy Christmas!Here's one of the oldest known illustrations of a turkey, from Konrad Gesner’s <em>Vogelbuch</em>, 1557.<br />
<br />
From Kansas City's <a href="http://lindahall.tumblr.com/post/68295165527/turkey-from-konrad-gesners-vogelbuch-1557" target="_blank">Linda Hall Library</a>. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/4f2a47d082ef7aef3dae7fcff66a6aa9/tumblr_mwxxauVE891ry3nado1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/4f2a47d082ef7aef3dae7fcff66a6aa9/tumblr_mwxxauVE891ry3nado1_500.jpg" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-52903891323027755462013-11-16T06:57:00.000-08:002013-11-16T06:57:00.741-08:00Praying mantis by Becca Stadtlander<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/89618572/praying-mantis?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/89618572/praying-mantis?ref=shop_home_active" border="0" height="395" src="https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5847845/il_570xN.299549555.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Through the magic of Pinterest I've discovered this artist who does lovely nature illustrations, you can find her Etsy shop <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/beccastadtlander" target="_blank">here</a>. To me this picture perfectly illustrates this wonderful description Gerald Durrell wrote of the mantids he encountered as a child in Corfu:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Among the myrtles the mantids moved, lightly, carefully, swaying
slightly, the quintessence of evil. They were lank and green, with
chinless faces and monstrous globular eyes, frosty gold, with an
expression of intense, predatory madness in them. The crooked arms,
with their fringes of sharp teeth, would be raised in mock supplication
to the insect world, so humble, so fervent, trembling slightly when a
butterfly flew too close."</blockquote>
Apologies for the lack of activity here lately folks, normal service will resume once I submit my thesis.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-84533599539867152612013-06-24T08:27:00.000-07:002013-06-24T09:23:25.827-07:00If you've ever wondered what it is I actually do......apparently I sit in a lab and wave my hands around too much when<i> </i>I talk. This video was filmed at an open day at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, organised by the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.wellcomecollection.org%2F2013%2F04%2F15%2Fa-day-in-the-life-of-an-entomologist&session_token=jqlHlWphBrxzUt7-1OSnh8DQHXJ8MTM3MjE3MzY5NUAxMzcyMDg3Mjk1" target="_blank">Wellcome Collection</a> and <a href="http://www.pestival.org/" target="_blank">Pestival</a>, and features members of my department talking about the work we do studying the interactions between humans and insects.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kI7VM8aRrfQ" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Yes I have hair now. I'm not especially happy about this development.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-19466639484737415942013-04-14T13:58:00.001-07:002013-04-14T13:58:22.818-07:00How to make fake pooSometimes I even shock myself.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4my1fmtB4Rz3Ks54yP31dzjOo0lA4iCOaSY6R_c3EBvW-pjmwhYlcFKfCximy4eQMhmKREGlagpFMnLNJg555MM6o149LY2wrwji-g7qihxFBawcLWgayK_PcbwFZ6MD1OogcWB0RuQ/s1600/DSC03233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4my1fmtB4Rz3Ks54yP31dzjOo0lA4iCOaSY6R_c3EBvW-pjmwhYlcFKfCximy4eQMhmKREGlagpFMnLNJg555MM6o149LY2wrwji-g7qihxFBawcLWgayK_PcbwFZ6MD1OogcWB0RuQ/s320/DSC03233.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ol>
<li>Add fluorescein to sugar water, then add gravy browning till you get the appropriate colour.</li>
<li>Soak cotton wool sheets in it, then lovingly handcraft them into the desired shape.</li>
<li>Add sweetcorn to obtain the desired artistic effect.</li>
</ol>
As to why you'd want to make fake fluorescent poo, you'll have to come to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's <a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/events/secret-insects-of-bloomsbury.aspx" target="_blank">Secret Insects of Bloomsbury</a> event next week and watch my demonstration to find out.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-62809077252857368542013-04-01T11:09:00.000-07:002013-04-01T11:09:03.976-07:00Fancy some Easter eggs?But I'm sure everyone's getting a bit tired of chocolate by now, so about something savoury?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Escamoles.jpg/800px-Escamoles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Escamoles.jpg/800px-Escamoles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikimedia commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Looks tasty doesn't it? They're described as having a buttery, nutty taste. These are escamoles or Mexican caviar, a gourmet dish eaten this time of year, made from the eggs (or more accurately the pupae) of the ant <a href="http://www.alexanderwild.com/keyword/liometopum%20apiculatum#!i=638348424&k=C3KNvMV" target="_blank"><i>Liometopum apiculatum</i></a>. As those gorgeous photos by <a href="https://twitter.com/Myrmecos" target="_blank">Alex Wild</a> show, the ants are rather ferocious, which coupled with the ants' habit of nesting in the roots of unpleasantly <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguey" target="_blank">spiky </a><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nopal" target="_blank">things </a>and the fact that the "caviar" is only available in March and April makes escamoles an expensive luxury. Unlike many luxury foods though, at 40%-60% protein it's extremely nutritious.<br />
<br />
I suspect a few of my readers are running for the brain bleach now, but when you think about it eating insect pupae is no stranger than eating shrimp or honey. Insect eating, or entomophagy, isn't just popular in Mexico but throughout the world, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonimbrasia_belina" target="_blank">Southern Africa</a> for example or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belostomatidae#In_Asian_cuisine" target="_blank">Southeast Asia</a> - in fact Western cultures are unusual in ignoring a tasty source of protein. (I have an entirely unscientific, untested theory that entomophagy is taboo in Western cultures simply because in temperate climates insects tend not to grow to the size nor aggregate in the numbers to make collecting them worthwhile).<br />
<br />
This may need to change though, as we face the challenges of feeding more and more people in an increasingly vulnerable climate.<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014445" target="_blank"> Insects convert food into protein far more efficiently than the mammalian herbivores we currently get our meat from, and produce far less methane</a>. The first European<a href="http://www.insectenkwekerij.nl/" target="_blank"> farm producing insects for human consumption</a> has already opened in The Netherlands. Maybe next year we should start thinking about eating a slightly different type of Easter egg?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-10616493257459342772013-03-15T01:34:00.001-07:002013-03-16T06:32:36.672-07:00Engagement and inclusion #2After writing <a href="http://geekinthegambia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/engagement-and-inclusion-we-can-do.html" target="_blank">my post yesterday </a>about some aspects of a science engagement talk that I found problematic I emailed the speaker about my concerns. He replied and we had a fascinating conversation which he has given me permission to reproduce here. I've omitted his name and a couple of paragraphs that were specific to the content of his talk rather than relevant to the general discussion.<br />
<br />
Speaker:<br />
<br />
" Thanks for the feedback and also for giving me the chance to reply.<br />
I admit that your post has caused me concern and I will look into what I can do. There are some of the things I can address straight away though.<br />
<br />
I really hope that I am not sexist or racist and am alarmed that I could even appear to be so.<br />
I did that talk 3 times today and the volunteer ratio averages out. Today I had 15 volunteers, 8 boys, 7 girls. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone for a group of friends, that was laziness of my part.<br />
<br />
First off the werewolf, is simply because he is currently the most famous werewolf I could find. I am, I admit unaware of any female werewolves in cinema. Similarly JoJo the dogfaced boy is I think the most famous person with werewolf syndrome. Superman was chosen because it is supermale syndrome, it was just the best access I had to a chromosomal mutation. I don't know of any other superheroes I could have used to make that work. Maybe there is a problem with superheroes as a topic as a whole. I don't know of any transgenic female heroes, and Spiderman is the best known even if there are ones I have not heard off. I don't know of any. Similarly, the Hulk is the only radiated superhero I know of. That is the simple reason why there were no female superheroes- there are so few in general and I don't know of any that would have worked with the genetics I was talking about.<br />
<br />
For infecting the volunteer with a virus- I have 3 pegs, I have always put two on the shoulders area and the final one in the hair, just because it gets a laugh. I do this regardless of the volunteers age, sex, ethnicity. I have no idea why this could be thought of as racist.<br />
<br />
Regards Beyonce- I will be more careful here. Maybe I should just end on the cats. It was not intended as anything more than a joke, I was struggling to find an ending. I will alter it.<br />
<br />
That is the reason why Dolly the sheep is called Dolly the sheep. It is a fact, but I think you are right, maybe not one worth sharing. I slipped that slide in last minute bearing in mind that I was talking about the names of clones and thought that I should mention Dolly somewhere given that she is the most famous clone in the world. I will remove it.<br />
<br />
I think where I have to be careful was saying bacteria are slags. I hadn't considered that it is considered a gender specific term, and it really is isn't it. I wanted to communicate that they are not even fussy what species they get their DNA from this is a very difficult concept for pupil, but fundamental to genetically engineering bacteria. I will need to use a better word. Promiscuous would be wrong, its too formal and the kids would not get it, tomorrow I will say that "bacteria are a bit loose".<br />
<br />
There is no such thing as a lowly volunteer. I talk to anybody who talks to me and would gladly have had a chat.<br />
<br />
I hope that my replying has been useful and thanks for pointing these things up as I would hate to be misconstrued.<br />
<br />
All the best."<br />
<br />
Me:<br />
<br />
"Thanks very much for getting back to me. I'm sure you're not sexist or racist but I'm sure you hold unconcious biases, just like we all do including myself. I think it's much like using blinding in scientific experiments; just like when we know we're more likely to judge ambiguous results in a way that favours our hypothesis we put a system in place to prevent that from happening, the important thing is to be aware of these biases. Thanks for letting me know about how volunteer selection averaged out through the day - I'm glad it was approximately 50/50, but as kids would only have gone to one talk I think maybe it's important that it balances out in each?<br />
<br />
I do appreciate that there are fewer widely recognised female superheroes, but I do think it's important that girls should have at least one active character in the talk they can empathise with, otherwise the only females being shown are just there for passive attributes like their appearance.<br />
<br />
I guess Mystique would probably be the best known female superhero - chameleons can change their skin colour and octopuses can change both colour and texture, but I do appreciate this is hard to link to human genetics. There are plenty of female characters with superhuman strength - Wonder Woman, Ms Marvel, Rogue from the comic book version of the X-men - and maybe this could be linked to mutations in the myostatin gene? <a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myostatin#section_3">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myostatin#section_3</a> I realise I'm getting even more obscure but maybe Elastigirl from The Incredibles could be linked to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome <a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers%E2%80%93Danlos_syndrome#section_2">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers%E2%80%93Danlos_syndrome#section_2</a>?<br />
<br />
The hair thing is because often Black peoples' hair being touched is a bit of an issue - I know it sounds bizarre that enough people would just walk up and mess with a stranger's hair for it to be a common experience, but it certainly seems to have been for the majority of my Black friends, white people feeling they have the right to just stick their hands in or stroke or pull their hair. In part because of this many Black people feel that having their hair interfered with is a bit of an insult to their bodily autonomy. On top of this hair has quite a lot of meaning in Black culture, as it was used as a marker for discrimination and as natural Black hair became something that had to be straightened or modified to look European to fit into society, so now hair is an assertion of identity. Because of all this I tend to avoid touching anyone's hair unless I have their express invitation.<br />
<br />
Thanks again for getting back to me and for taking what I said on board."<br />
<br />
[Incidentally I'm very aware that I'm a white person explaining Black people's feelings about hair here, if anyone can link me to a better explanation or feels like writing something let me know and I'll stick it in a new post]<br />
<br />
Speaker:<br />
<br />
" Yeah I do try and balance volunteers not only regards their sex but regarding what school they come from, position in the auditorium etc too, sometimes I just fail.<br />
<br />
Elasto girl is in- I simply had not heard of her. It will take me a few days to incorporate her, but sounds like a great one.<br />
<br />
Maybe this is a general problem that male role models are heroes while female ones are pop stars. But just because Hollywood and the worlds of pop music are sexist does not mean that I should be. I simply aimed to engage with popular culture and use it to explain some hard stuff, but I must have let it impact my talk negatively. That was never my intention. I have never wanted to offend or alienate anyone. I will take more care in future. Thanks.<br />
<br />
I am going to give my volunteer a hat now. That way I can avoid any issues.<br />
<br />
All the best."<br />
<br />
Edited to add: anyone interested in more inclusive superheroes or comic books<a href="http://paipicks.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"> could do well to start here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-64010868218931775812013-03-14T12:07:00.001-07:002013-03-16T06:45:46.312-07:00Engagement and inclusion: we can do betterI spent today volunteering at a major science event aimed at children. As you may have noticed I'm quite passionate about science communication, both because I feel that everyone deserves the chance to hear about something I find so fascinating and because I believe passionately that the more people of all ages but especially the more children are exposed to scientific ideas the more will realise that science is something they too can become involved in, and like every evangelist banging on about Apple products or Brompton bikes I'd like to think that something that has enriched my life so much could enrich the lives of others too. For this reason I was delighted to be assigned to help out with some of the talks, and looked forward to seeing how the experts did it.<br />
<br />
I have to admit that how they did it horrified me.<br />
<br />
The first speaker gave a talk that was in many ways very good - he used superheroes as an engaging hook to capture children's interest, and designed some very novel and interactive demonstrations to convey some very complex concepts. I sincerely hope that this post is taken in a spirit of constructive criticism that would allow him, and others designing similar engement activities, to make them truly excellent. Where it fell down though was in the quite startling degree of sexism it demonstrated. I'm not going to name the event or the first speaker, as I'm sure the biases and sterotypical thinking displayed were entirely unconscious rather than deliberate (after all the very definition of privilege is having the luxury to be unaware of such issues) and because I doubt he is alone in exhibiting them - rather than a critique of a single event I think this should be an opportunity for everyone to think about making our science communication more inclusive.<br />
<br />
The speaker mentioned a number of people, real and fictional in his talk. Males mentioned were the werewolf from Twilight, Superman, Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk - admittedly the werewolf character was probably written as eye-candy but the rest were discussed as admirable characters and powers that would be desirable to share. Females mentioned were Dolly Parton (in the context of a joke about Dolly the sheep being cloned from breast tissue) and Beyoncé Knowles twice: the first time in the context of the fly with the golden bum named after her (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/9012133/The-Beyonce-fly-Researchers-name-insect-with-golden-behind-after-singer.html" target="_blank">yes really</a>), illustrated of course by a picture of Beyoncé's bum in a gold lamé dress, and the second in the context of how wonderful it would be if we could all clone a copy of her. Men, in short, were shown as heroes with agency (with the possible exception of the werewolf) whereas women were either the butt of jokes or objects of admiration, in both cases for their physical characteristics. Given that half of the audience was female this certainly wasn't a message I wanted them to be taking away from a science fair.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02107/The-Scaptia-_2107965b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02107/The-Scaptia-_2107965b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="caption">Scaptia beyonceae</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another issue was the selevtion of volunteers, all five of whom were male. Admittedly the first four all came from the front row, and as kids tend to try and sit next to their friends it's possible that there was a cluster of boys in the place where the speaker liked to take volunteers from, but the final volunteer was chosen from the side of the hall and was also a boy. I'm sure that the speaker wasn't doing this on purpose, but it did seem to me as though he was subconciously choosing volunteers on the basis of his mental image of who would be interested in science. The trouble is that the fact that the people on stage where entirely male may have helped reinforce any biases or insecurities the audience may have held over who should be doing science too.<br />
<br />
On top of this one of the demonstrations struck me as potentially rather racially insensitive: the demonstrator asked for a volunteer from the audience and started putting pegs in his hair. I don't know whether he would have modified this part of the demonstrator if the volunteer had been Black, but I would have found a Black kid on stage having their hair messed with by a white man incredibly uncomfortable and really there was no need to do it at all.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To top it all off he ended with a slut-shaming joke, saying that all bacteria are slags because they'd share DNA with anyone which apart from anything else may not have been appropriate for such a young audience.<br />
<br />
The second talk was far better, with no sexist jokes, one of the three kids selected as volunteers being a girl and videos shown of children of all sexes and ethnicities doing experiments. I did notice however that again the three demonstrators were all white and male: perhaps not a problem in isolation but coming straight after the first talk may perhaps have reinforced the impression that science was not for everyone. Both talks were repeated in the afternoon, but I was too busy to pay attention to the balance of volunteers.<br />
<br />
I did wonder whether I was overreacting, seeing problems where most wouldn't notice them, until one of the class teachers stopped me on the way out and begged me to feed back how awfully sexist the talk was to the demonstrator. I'll try, though as a lowly volunteer I doubt I'll get the chance to talk to him, but I genuinely believe he was acting with the best of intentions, completely unaware of how problematic some aspects of his talk were, and I doubt that this issue is unique to him; for this reason I hope that this post will serve to feed back to some extent to the scientific communication and engagement community.<br />
<br />
16/3/13: Edited the add that <a href="http://geekinthegambia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/engagement-and-inclusion-2.html" target="_blank">the speaker has now responded to me and taken these points on board. </a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-67943880521266916542013-01-25T09:50:00.002-08:002013-03-16T06:19:29.614-07:00Freaky Friday: Isopod and chips?As something of a connoisseur of creepy things with lots of legs, you can imagine how exited I was when a member of my knitting forum posted about two odd creatures she'd found in the mouth a snapper she's just cooked (I was in fact so excited it took me a couple of months to get around to blogging about it, but that's purely a reflection of my disorganisation rather than the awesomeness of the find). I won't say it's the coolest thing I've ever seen in that forum, because it also introduced me to <a href="http://fattythor.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Fatty Thor</a>, but it came pretty damn close. The knitter who found it doesn't want to be identified in case she is forever known as Snapper Tongue Louse Girl, but she was kind enough to send me some high resolution pictures of them which I've put behind a link because I know that my Dad sometimes reads this blog and I suspect he'd never eat again if he saw them.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZEfKLYfLFWoMU8DQ9Jb_PHnc-TNGT6l6xInilC8T2BE?feat=directlink" target="_blank">Picture 1</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X7c2ZTasbgAGcuNUiWKNW3nc-TNGT6l6xInilC8T2BE?feat=directlink" target="_blank">Picture 2</a><br />
<br />
So what are these marvelous mouth monsters? They're female and male <i>Cymothoa exigua</i>, known to their friends as the tongue eating louse, and l<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Cymothoa_exigua.jpg" target="_blank">ook only slightly less terrifying when not baked in a salt crust</a>. This aquatic distant relative of the woodlouse glories in the distinction of being the only parasite known to functionally replace the organ it destroys - the female (the larger of the two nightmarish nibbles in the pictures) enters the fish's mouth through the gill slits and eats the helpless creature's tongue, then using her pincers attaches herself to the stump and spend the rest of her life serving as a replacement, living on food and mucus in the fish's mouth. The smaller of the two, romantically roasted with her, is the male who would have been clinging to the gills in the hope of a bit of tongue action.<br />
<br />
All in all you might think that after going through all that, being baked in a salt crust probably came as a blessed relief for the poor red snapper, so I'll leave it to <a href="https://twitter.com/BecCrew" target="_blank">Bec Crew</a> to explain how<a href="http://runningponies.com/tag/cymothoa-exigua/" target="_blank"> having an alien in its mouth could have been an advantage if the fish was shy talking to the lady snappers</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-81351686884846195862012-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:002013-03-16T06:20:22.345-07:00Happy Christmas! Have some sprouts!Have some sprouts!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i.imgur.com/QKeog.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/QKeog.gif" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 380px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 380px;" /></a><a href="http://insideinsides.blogspot.com/2012/01/brussel-sprouts-several.html">MRI of Brussels Sprouts</a> from the amazing <a href="http://www.blogger.com/insideinsides.blogspot.com">Inside Insides</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-44181909745607254302012-12-17T09:59:00.000-08:002013-03-16T06:21:05.894-07:00Wshing you all a creepy crawly Christmas!And here's a suggestion for a last minute educational Christmas present for kids and adults who think they're kids: an Incredible Arthropods colouring book from <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBugChicks" target="_blank">The Bug Chicks</a>:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thebugchicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Incredible-Arthropods-Coloring-Book-Sample-copy.jpg?9d7bd4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://thebugchicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Incredible-Arthropods-Coloring-Book-Sample-copy.jpg?9d7bd4" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There's still just about time to order it in the <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FIncredible-Arthropods-Insects-spiders-more%2Fdp%2F1622095022&ei=51fPUI7KEcWFhQfijIHADQ&usg=AFQjCNEfZXDPWu1CSjs5lrAFwcasuXK5FA&sig2=MojRhHvmdFp7GSbHtwzj9Q&bvm=bv.1355325884,d.ZG4" target="_blank">US </a>or <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CEEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FIncredible-Arthropods-Insects-spiders-more%2Fdp%2F1622095022&ei=51fPUI7KEcWFhQfijIHADQ&usg=AFQjCNH2pni9Wd9UOCz8Urvr7D9h2dkK1Q&sig2=jEgdlUsO1ZLg0pI2LVX09Q&bvm=bv.1355325884,d.ZG4" target="_blank">UK </a>and it's guaranteed educational, doesn't require batteries and doesn't make an annoying noise.<br />
<br />
It's also available as a <a href="http://thebugchicks.com/education/our-new-coloring-book-incredible-arthropods/" target="_blank">digital download</a>, allowing you to print the pictures on transparencies and stick them on your window - if you colour them with Sharpies they looks like stained glass when the sun shines in and scare your naighbours after dark when the light shines out.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A9raFTeCQAIlTJA.jpg:large" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A9raFTeCQAIlTJA.jpg:large" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why yes, London is cold, grey and miserable</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If you don't have access to transparencies you can also make cool stained glass by <a href="http://2me4art.com/2012/03/23/sophies-art/" target="_blank">tracing the pictures onto greaseproof paper, </a>or make shrinkable art to make jewellery or button badges by t<a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/01/07/how-to-make-shrinky-dinks-with-recycled-6-plastic/" target="_blank">racing the pictures onto food containers then cutting them out and baking them in the oven</a>. Do make sure you use the right type of plastic though, you want number 6.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f7/Resin-identification-code-6-PS.svg/90px-Resin-identification-code-6-PS.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f7/Resin-identification-code-6-PS.svg/90px-Resin-identification-code-6-PS.svg.png" /></a></div>
Happy Christmas!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-46998035309674609172012-12-12T07:17:00.000-08:002013-03-16T06:29:35.033-07:00What is Chemical Ecology?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">One striking thing that I realised from the <a href="http://www.geekinthegambia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/protests-in-park.html" target="_blank">discussions about Rothamsted’s</a> wheat trial is how little was known about chemical ecology - it’s
very easy to get so absorbed in your own field that you forget that what you’re
working on isn’t common knowledge in the wider world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also a fascinating example of how words
can have very different associations to different people – to me chemical
ecology is a fascinating field of study, but I actually noticed one protestor I
was talking to recoil in horror at the juxtaposition of the friendly, positive
word “ecology” with the word “chemical”, with all its unnatural connotations.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Colloquially, the word “chemical” has come to mean something
artificial, some unpronounceable synthetic substance with unpredictable effects
cooked up in a lab somewhere, but it’s important to realise that in the
technical sense the word chemical simply means a collection of atoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the technical definition every physical
object we encounter is made up of chemicals – water is a chemical, so is the
oxygen we breathe, the vitamins, sugars and proteins that we eat, the keratin
in our hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The fact that this field
of study was named something that seems so off-putting to some perhaps just
goes to show that science doesn’t have access to the sort of slick PR machine
many assume it does!).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The science of ecology involves the study of the
relationships between different organisms, and between organisms and their environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chemical ecology is a particular subsection
of this discipline, which studies those interactions that are mediated by
chemicals; semiochemicals which convey information, for example smelly
compounds which alert organisms to the presence of suitable or unsuitable food,
mates, or danger, pheromones which allow individual organisms of the same
species to coordinate behaviour (for example the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee_pheromones" target="_blank">queen mandibular pheromone</a> of
honey bees that prevents workers from laying eggs),
and defensive compounds that species use to wage chemical warfare on one
another – the formic acid wood ants squirt at attackers, the antibiotics
secreted by some fungi to prevent the growth of competitor bacteria on their
food or the
signals used by the parasitic weed <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striga_%28plant%29" target="_blank">Striga </a></i>to <a href="http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/timko/striga_host.htm" target="_blank">parasitise </a>its host plant
for example.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Bienenkoenigin3.jpg/300px-Bienenkoenigin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Bienenkoenigin3.jpg/300px-Bienenkoenigin3.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Queen bee surrounded by workers, image from Wikipedia.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">My own research on the smells that attract <a href="http://geekinthegambia.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/here-comes-science-part.html" target="_blank">the fly that transmits trachoma</a> to the tears it feeds on and the faeces it lays its
eggs on, and so the aspect of chemical ecology I’m most familiar with, involves
semiochemicals – the volatile molecules that diffuse through the air and convey
information to the creatures that smell them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These are often oil-soluble chemicals – if you try to think of some of
the strongest smelling things you encounter aromatherapy oils are probably on
the list somewhere – but they can also be things that humans can’t smell, like
carbon dioxide or water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insects in
general have very acute sense of smell – a bee,
for example can smell the equivalent of a single grain of salt in an
Olympic-sized swimming pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This highly
acute sense of smell, incidentally, is why bees are being trained to sniff out
drugs and explosives.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if you’re
hoping to learn how insects interact with their world, and maybe to control how
they do so, smell is a good place to start.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/IocdgF99eK8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st"> Sniffer bees in action</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">There are various ways to find the odours insects can
detect, but one of the most direct is to eavesdrop on what’s going on in their
brains using a technique called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroantennography" target="_blank">electroantennography</a>.</span><span class="st"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nerve impulse is fundamentally just a spike
of electrical charge, so by very carefully inserting one electrode into the tip
of an insect’s antenna, and another into the area of an insect’s brain
responsible for smell, you can measure how the difference in charge between the
two electrodes varies when the insect is exposed to different smells you think
might be important to it and by doing so find out which ones trigger a nerve
impulse – which ones it’s smelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From
there you can go on to do laboratory and field tests to find out how the insect
reacts to these smells; does it fly towards them, away from them, or do
something in response to them, like feeding on what smells like tasty food or
laying eggs on what smells like a good place for its young to develop?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">Exploiting an insect’s sensory word has one great
advantage over many other pest control methods – as different smells mean
different things to different insects, taking an approach informed by chemical
ecology allows you to target one particular pest species without affecting
others, unlike blanket insecticides for example which may be just as harmful to
beneficial insects or a pest’s natural predators as they are to the pest
itself. Take the coddling moth for example, a pest of apple trees whose caterpillar
is the traditional “worm in the apple”.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.biofortified.org/wp-content/uploads//2010/08/Codling-Moth-Damage-300x223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.biofortified.org/wp-content/uploads//2010/08/Codling-Moth-Damage-300x223.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.biofortified.org/2010/08/pest-control-part-2/" target="_blank">Coddling moth larva damage,</a> from Wikipedia.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">Adult females of this species produce a
characteristic pheromone which the male can smell from a great distance away,
and he can then follow the perfume trail to find her and mate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of spraying orchards with insecticide
farmers can now use traps baited with synthetic versions of this pheromone in a
technique called mating disruption – overwhelmed by the strong perfume wafting
from the traps the male can no longer find the female, they both eventually die
alone and frustrated and the apples are protected.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">The coddling moth isn’t the only insect species whose
chemical communication can be its downfall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Contrary to popular belief bedbugs don’t actually live in bedlinen, but
spend the day hiding in “refuges”, cracks in walls or furniture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dozens huddle together in these refuges,
waiting out the day, and find each other using their characteristic smell,
sometimes described as reminiscent of cilantro or coriander (although I won’t
be sprinkling bedbugs on my Thai curry any time soon).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re not the only ones who can use this
smell though – bedbug infestations mean big business losses for hotels so they
need to be tipped off at the first sign of infection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most sophisticated bedbug detectors out
there use the smell that bedbugs produce to find them, and then signal that
they’ve done so...by wagging their tails.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/images/bed_bug_midas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/images/bed_bug_midas.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/bio_detection.html" target="_blank">Bed bug detection dog</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">That’s right, the best bedbug detectors out there are
dogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the sniffer dogs need
something to do if the bees are displacing them at airports.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">In Kenya a<a href="http://www.push-pull.net/components.shtml" target="_blank"> novel farming system exploiting chemicalecology</a> is being pioneered to control stem borer caterpillars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are the larvae of a number of different
moth species (<i>Chillo partellus, Eldana saccharina, Busseola fusca, Sesmia
calamistis</i>) that basically do exactly what they say on the tin; chomp their way
through the stems of maize plants, boring out the centres, which obviously
doesn’t do a lot of good to either the maize or the farmers who want to eat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The moths find the maize plant to lay their
eggs on by smell, and that’s where chemical ecology comes in, using a push-pull
strategy of interplanting a plant that smells repellent to the moths with the
maize, to mask its naturally attractive smell, and surrounding the maize crop
with a plant that smells attractive to the moths to lure them away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cunningly the repellent-smelling intercrop is
a plant called <i>Desmodium</i>, a member of the bean family that enriches the soil
with nitrogen and as a bonus kills the parasitic weed <i>Striga </i>which also reduces
maize yields, and the attractive plant is a grass which can be fed to cattle
and which traps the stemborers with sticky sap.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">An understanding of chemical ecology isn’t just
helpful for plant growing either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kenyan
cattle herders dread <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_trypanosomiasis" target="_blank">nagana</a>, </span><span class="st">a
disease spread by tsetse flies which causes weightloss and death in their
herds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attractant traps for tsetse flies
already exist – blue sheets (a colour that the flies find attractive) baited
with carbon dioxide mimicking the exhaled breathe of the animals tsetses feed
on. (Incidentally this is why tsetse flies chase cars: a tsetse’s prey is a
large moving object breathing out carbon dioxide, and a car is a very large,
fast-moving object pumping out large amounts of carbon dioxide).</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/TsetseTrap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/TsetseTrap.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tsetse trap, from Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">But these traps alone aren’t sufficient to protect
the Kenyan cattle herds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The solution
came in the form of repellent collars for the cattle, which mimic the odour of
animal species that tsetse don’t find attractive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are being <a href="http://www.icipe.org/animal-health/307-validation-and-initiation-of-diffusion-of-pro-poor-and-poor-environment-tsetse-repellent-technology.html" target="_blank">rolled out at the moment</a> </span><span class="st">and, in conjunction with traps, serve as a push-pull system for the tsetse.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">How about insects pests that transmit human diseases,
could chemical ecology be used to control them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a possibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like tsetse
flies, mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, and
also to various odorous chemicals evaporating from human skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may already have something that could
serve as the pull component of a push pull system – a trap baited with carbon
dioxide and a synthetic blend of these chemicals that <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20126628" target="_blank">could be more attractiveto mosquitoes than humans</a> are, and we’re on our way to
develop a push.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">At present the only effective wearable mosquito
repellent is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deet" target="_blank">DEET</a>, developed by the US military
to protect its soldiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although highly
effective it has its drawbacks, sometimes causing irritation or damaging
clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repellents made from <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17940319" target="_blank">lemon eucalyptus</a> look promising but evaporate too quickly from the skin to
be very useful at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
solution may lie in chemicals that we ourselves produce naturally – it turns
out that as well as the attractive chemicals we all produce <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18306972" target="_blank">some of us also produce natural mosquito repellents</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A8zN09ACMAEdlM3.jpg:large" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A8zN09ACMAEdlM3.jpg:large" width="208" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">This is not in fact an oven ready scientist but me in
a survival bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are used to
capture the odours that human beings produce, to analyse for chemicals that are
attractive or repellent to mosquitoes, as they’re airtight and have very few
odours of their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Air that has had
all its own odours purified out with a charcoal filter is blown into the bag,
and the, umm, miasma sucked out and analysed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe someday we’ll be able to use these odours to make everyone smell
utterly repellent, at least to mosquitoes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="st">Using chemical ecology to study the stimuli useful to
insects gives us a greater understanding of the world from their perspective,
and the more we understand about what chemical information they use to find
resources important to them the more we can manipulate those resources that are
also useful to us, like crop plants or even our own bodies, to reduce the
conflict between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an increasingly
resource-constrained world, gaining a better understanding of natural systems
in order to make fewer, more sophisticated changes to better meet our needs is
surely the way to go.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-10505439017259997442012-10-31T08:53:00.002-07:002013-03-16T06:24:25.663-07:00This Halloween, meet the vampire maggot!Happy Halloween! Say hello to the blood-sucking larva of <i>Auchmeromyia senegalensis.</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41s-3EwRo54RDTEjwKtboe4YE8k1I6gvEBlBSjkTwuLUK9ggPbb050IS4GSY53eL5YyL2I0OaozHBOSqEX1SdRjz_YsE0bNUdOBBENBQ2Qni8zm29qio2JflKpA0IIbVEE_bkOlEKnuY/s1600/fly-congofloormaggot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41s-3EwRo54RDTEjwKtboe4YE8k1I6gvEBlBSjkTwuLUK9ggPbb050IS4GSY53eL5YyL2I0OaozHBOSqEX1SdRjz_YsE0bNUdOBBENBQ2Qni8zm29qio2JflKpA0IIbVEE_bkOlEKnuY/s1600/fly-congofloormaggot.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image pinched from Bogleech's brilliant "<a href="http://bogleech.com/bio-flies.html" target="_blank">Top Twenty Coolest Flies</a>"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This little chap lives in Subsaharan Africa, in dirt floors and bedlinen, and crawls out at night to suck sleepers' blood. Unlike fictional vampires he doesn't sparkle, but like certain fictional vampires he's not especially bright and is utterly defeated if sleepers are raised off the group on beds (he evolved to feed on burrowing mammals). Although he seems like a fairly uncharismatic creature, research into other bloodsuckers like leeches has already yielded a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirudin" target="_blank">natural anticoagulant</a> so who knows what tricks this under-researched vampire may be using to get his dinner?<br />
<br />
Sleep tight.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-18646483075347536112012-05-27T15:24:00.003-07:002013-03-16T06:26:08.323-07:00Protests in the Park<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfoSJtfEbqzNwl274OQbYaUbyVW0d7q04LBSK_drPFICfA-p3bz6TezF_K78GulAcIqU98howpFKVSmFWHZHW5-wDLOv9LW8ACQXjWu1oCeF3128b4Olcg9twOVRViO7O54YQCELZ_IQ/s1600/IMAG0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfoSJtfEbqzNwl274OQbYaUbyVW0d7q04LBSK_drPFICfA-p3bz6TezF_K78GulAcIqU98howpFKVSmFWHZHW5-wDLOv9LW8ACQXjWu1oCeF3128b4Olcg9twOVRViO7O54YQCELZ_IQ/s320/IMAG0070.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Badges!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Some excellent posts have already been written on today's events by <a href="http://t.co/6A8cEgRn" target="_blank">Rebecca Nesbit</a> and <a href="http://sillypunk.posterous.com/an-uncomfortable-day-in-rothmasted" target="_blank">Sillypunk</a>, but I thought I'd add my own impressions now that my brain has cooled down enough to string a semi-coherent sentence together.<br />
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It was rather surreal to walk into Rothamsted Park around eleven thirty on a brilliantly sunny day to see chestnut trees in bloom, families walking dogs and a massive police presence. Members of both the anti-gm protest and the pro-research counterprotest had already arrived and assembled in their separate camps at the back of the park, and after a slightly confused few minutes during which I attempted to join the wrong group I found the counterprotest and started putting a few faces to Twitter handles.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_oAjlVuUlO9SPRkzGluRweEu43K_oYpiPiyb2jYDF6s2jDeCkoaRAk9RQkXQ7MBaJQgnEAd7XhoIicT3WmoT3fsT-QdRKqSeDeyyLcz6VR6ffpYIQ_nF2eOPO8g1WJq7Z2AtDumkphI/s1600/IMAG0066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_oAjlVuUlO9SPRkzGluRweEu43K_oYpiPiyb2jYDF6s2jDeCkoaRAk9RQkXQ7MBaJQgnEAd7XhoIicT3WmoT3fsT-QdRKqSeDeyyLcz6VR6ffpYIQ_nF2eOPO8g1WJq7Z2AtDumkphI/s320/IMAG0066.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Police horses looking cool in sunglasses</td></tr>
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Both groups quickly did their best to live up to their stereotypes, with the anti-gm protestors singing folksongs and members of the pro-research group huddling in the shade to be better able to see their lcd screens and swapping tips on extending phone battery life. It quickly became apparent though that we were so far apart that any dialogue between groups would have to be conducted by semaphore so in dribs and drabs we wandered over to the anti-gm protest to hear what the speakers had to say.<br />
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Although after the media briefing Rothamsted scientists had originally planned to talk to Take the flour back in the park, with their refusal to rule out destructive measures it was considered best for them to stay behind the police line and for protestors to be escorted to them in small groups. Sadly there didn't seem to be much interest in discussions with them, an attitude I encountered myself when I asked for a right of reply to the speeches which contained some misinterpretations (the trial was asserted to be useless because it was carried out in spring wheat wheareas winter wheat which is more widely grown in the UK, and I would have likeld the opportunity to explain that it was only a proof of concept trial, rather than a trial of the final variety) and some outright misunderstandings (the incorrect statement that the wheat contains a gene from cows, the claim that gm crops were directly responsible for the suicides of thousands of farmers in India). I was told in no uncertain terms by the chap directing the speakers that they didn't want to listen because they'd already heard everything I would have to say in the media. I found this a rather depressing attitude - so many of the speakers were repeating completely unverifiable or downright untrue claims and I thought it was sad that they weren't willing to consider the evidence for and against these claims. I know I keep linking to this blog post but it's <a href="http://noteasytobegreen.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/seeing-through-fuzzy-lenses/" target="_blank">an excellent discussion of the perceptual filters that colour our view of the world</a> - surely the only way to become aware of and evaluate the distorting effect of these filters is to be willing to consider the evidence for and against your poistion?<br />
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I have to admit that by this point I was feeling rather dispirited, and as nothing much seemed to be happening at this point I went off in search of lunch (the biggest winner of the day was probably the Harpenden Farmers' Market, which was doing a roaring trade to members of both groups) with a couple of other protestors. This proved to be a slight tactical miscalculation as just as we got back to the park the anti-gm group flocked towards the Rothamsted fence, forcing us geeks, already weakened by exposure to sunlight, to break into a run.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs77FdlaN-udkRYmd3yNjsOrzXQsOLqXqqTRDMHCZaMpECDX-y_pLRhkjB63yCrA3oR0AbOx-MsmH2j59OzxtqRDff-eLAQ8F5lhwZFHrSMry5LaYj9L3h7rTOmZI_sCe7ondBkBfC9p8/s1600/IMAG0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs77FdlaN-udkRYmd3yNjsOrzXQsOLqXqqTRDMHCZaMpECDX-y_pLRhkjB63yCrA3oR0AbOx-MsmH2j59OzxtqRDff-eLAQ8F5lhwZFHrSMry5LaYj9L3h7rTOmZI_sCe7ondBkBfC9p8/s320/IMAG0067.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anti-gm protestors assemble by the fence.</td></tr>
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Things did look tense for a few moments, and several protestors split off from the main group and raced towards what they thought were gaps in the police line. However there were easily more police present than protestors in both camps together and they were quickly apprehended and turned away. There was a moment's confusion when I mistook the person organising a sitdown protest on Twitter for a member of the pro-research camp and tried to encourage our group to join in, and further confusion when Take the flour back mistook me for a supporter, but after that excitement things calmed down and the remainder of the protest was peaceful with no further attempts to enter the site.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgh4tgtRiGRAAI9qTdWmgDTUasDhE1XsbOAn6EUIpRPVzHEMSqbwYXufBCxoaQ_bTuxbiEr4MA59OO0rrufmKWjqCZVHLD6936KeWbRjPnPayDAfArZSBXPQTK4STv49RllnhDkuyJJo/s1600/IMAG0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgh4tgtRiGRAAI9qTdWmgDTUasDhE1XsbOAn6EUIpRPVzHEMSqbwYXufBCxoaQ_bTuxbiEr4MA59OO0rrufmKWjqCZVHLD6936KeWbRjPnPayDAfArZSBXPQTK4STv49RllnhDkuyJJo/s320/IMAG0068.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protestors attempting to enter the site are turned away by police</td></tr>
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<br />
We then initiated our own sit down, chow down protest and ate our lunch and it was at that point that things started to get interesting. Until that point all our attempts at initiating dialogue had been rebuffed, but at this point people started coming up to us to talk. One woman was extremely angry and delivered a lecture on how transgenes could contaminate the soil and the rain before storming away, followed by her tweenage son who clearly wished he was somewhere else, but we did speak to a fair number of people interested in genuine conversations about their concerns and in finding common ground. Discussions with a group of Permaculture students from Bristol were particularly fascinating, and certainly helped me to get a better understanding of peoples' concerns.<br />
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What I think I took away from this was that there are three main strands of concerns about genetic modification:<br />
<ol>
<li>The idea that genomes are sacrosanct and any movement of genes between organisms is unacceptable meddling with nature. As a scientist familiar with <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16124-solarpowered-sea-slug-harnesses-stolen-plant-genes.html" target="_blank">natural examples of gene transfer between organisms</a> this isn't a position I can agree with, indeed I consider it to be amazing evidence of how connected all organisms are, but I can understand that it is an article of faith for some people and, like religious faith, not really amenable to change by debate.</li>
<li>Concerns over the safety of gm crops, both to the environment and to human health. This is an area where I really feel we can challenge misinformation, as these claims are verifiable by empirical evidence rather than personal belief. The challenge is to ensure the evidence isn't disbelieved because of concerns about the biases or hidden agenda of the person presenting it, but by being open and honest throughout the process I hope we can combat these impressions.</li>
<li>Concerns about the application and commercialisation of gm crops. Although my opinion of the necessity of the fundamental research hasn't changed, one positive consequence of these discussions is that I've learned a lot about the issues involved in this. To my mind this is an argument for campaigning to ensure that legislation catches up with the technology that has run ahead, rather than for slowing the technology down, but it certainly has made me think harder about how scientific advances are likely to be implemented, rather than simply how they occur.</li>
</ol>
One thing I am certain of though is that the openness with which Rothamsted has conducted this discussion has helped, by making those people who were curious enough to question feel they could approach us for a dialogue. Long may the conversation continue. Only not tonight please, I'm knackered.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-75153485487148557712012-05-25T02:51:00.000-07:002013-03-16T06:25:46.391-07:00Guidelines for protest in Rothamsted park<b>THIS POST IS MY PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT ENDORSED BY ROTHAMSTED. <a href="http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/rothamsted-letter-to-signatories.html" target="_blank">ROTHAMSTED WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE A PROTEST OR COUNTER PROTEST AT ALL</a></b>,<b> BUT THIS HAS GATHERED SO MUCH MOMENTUM ON TWITTER NOW I THINK IT'S INEVITABLE AND WE SHOULD START THINKING ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING STAYS CIVIL.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">A team
of Rothamsted scientists will be at Rothamsted Park, Harpenden AL5 2EF
to answer questions from 11.30 on Sunday the 27th of May - do go and talk to them,
they're nice people.</span><br />
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If you're coming from London, when you get off the train go out the
station exit to the left of the direction you were travelling, then
follow the hill down.<span style="font-size: small;"> There's a pub on the corner called the Harpenden Arms - turn left after that, cross at the crossing, cross the green then follow the road to the left. The entrance to the park is just after the town hall/</span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.812011,-0.362391&num=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=51.811852,-0.361948&spn=0.04001,0.077162&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.812011,-0.362391&num=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=51.811852,-0.361948&spn=0.04001,0.077162&z=14&iwloc=A&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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It looks as though there will now be three protests happening in Rothamsted Park on Sunday the 27th of May - the anti-gm protest which aims to destroy the field trial, an alternative peaceful protest which wants to express oposition to genetic modification without vandalising the trial and a<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/geekmob" target="_blank"> #geekmob</a> counterprotest in support of the trial. To the first group I would obviously say <a href="http://geekinthegambia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/flour-to-people.html" target="_blank">please don't</a>, but I hope something positive can come out of this by offering an opportunity for dialogue between the second two groups if everyone follows these guidelines:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">There aren't many trains into Harpenden, so you'll probably end up travelling with members of the other camp. This is a great opportunity for dialogue but please remember there'll be other passengers on the trains who just want to nurse their Saturday night hangovers in peace so please keep it calm.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">By all means bring placards, banners, pixel poi and Arduino LED displays but keep the messages attacking points not people. "Down with this sort of thing" is good, "your muzzer was an amstere, and your fazzer smelled of elderbereees" is not helpful.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The same goes for engaging people in discussion - remember that the person you're talking to may not have the same grounding in the subject you do or access to the same information, but they're an intelligent person doing what they sincerely believe to be best for planet and people. As an entomologist I'm not so keen on the phrase "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" - vinegar will work perfectly well if you're after vinegar flies, and you catch most Musca sorbens with shit which doesn't make a very good cliche, but it is true that if someone is wrong you're more likely to change their mind through rational argument than by insulting their intelligence.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Listen. Let the other person explain their concerns.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">If someone isn't extending you the same courtesy, walk away. You will not be able to have a productive discussion.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">If things are getting heated, and you feel safe doing so, you can deescalate the situation by sitting down.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Do not attempt to physically prevent anyone from destroying crops. Not only might this lead to ugly confrontations, the more people there are on the site the harder it will be for the police to stop people intent on destroying the trial and the more likely it is that something important will be trampled accidentally.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, and most importantly, PLEASE DON'T DESTROY THE TRIAL..</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />Thank you.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-11025408617287514652012-05-21T08:37:00.003-07:002013-03-16T06:25:23.019-07:00Flour to the people!<h2>
This post is written as an individual and all opinions within it are my own. It is not the opinion of Rothamsted Research. </h2>
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18140957" target="_blank">Yesterday a man was charged after breaking in to one of Rothamsted Research's experimental plots</a>, attempting to damage plants used in an <a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Content.php?Section=AphidWheat" target="_blank">ongoing trial of wheat genetically modified to produce aphid alarm pheromone</a>, the chemical aphids produce to warn others of danger. The arrogance of his actions are truly astounding - what possible mandate could a single individual believe they have to destroy six years of publicly funded research? But he is not alone, his actions were presumably inspired by a protest group called <a href="http://taketheflourback.org/" target="_blank">Take the Flour Back </a> which is proposing to destroy the trial next Saturday.<br />
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In response researchers at Rothamsted have taken the unusual step of appealing directly to these activists, in an open letter from John Pickett <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21768-respect-the-need-to-experiment-with-gm-crops.html?full=true" target="_blank">in New Scientist</a> and a video appeal from <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/GIAradottir" target="_blank">Gia Aradottir</a>:<br />
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John Pickett also appeared on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01hy2qc/Newsnight_17_05_2012/" target="_blank">Newsnight </a>last week, and was barely able to get a word in edgeways (from 22 minutes).<br />
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Speaking as someone with more than a passing interest of science communication the strategy Rothamsted are persuing is fascinating - this is the first time I've seen seen scientists trying to engage protestors over the strong values that have led them to protest, rather than assuming that they'll change their minds if provided with more facts. Perhaps as a result. the news coverage of this particular scientific issue has been excellent, with the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/01/anti-gm-activists-wheat-rothamsted?newsfeed=true" target="_blank">Guardian </a>for example providing a contrasting point of view from a qualified scientist rather than whichever contrarian the journalist has on speed dial. Speaking as a scientist, the prospect that this group can simply propose to stroll up and destroy years of vital work is deeply worrying.<br />
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Wheat is a vital crop, estimated in <a href="http://www.faostat.fao.org/" target="_blank">2007 to provide 530 calories per person per day</a>. Over <a href="http://www.faostat.fao.org/" target="_blank">650 million </a>metric tonnes of wheat were produced in 2010 on almost <a href="http://www.faostat.fao.org/" target="_blank">217 million</a> hectares of land. As these mindboggling figures show, wheat cultivation is vital to our ability to feed the world's population, and likely to become more so as the population increases. Almost <a href="http://www.ukagriculture.com/" target="_blank">two million hectares</a> are devoted to wheat cultivation in the UK alone. We typically think of aphids as a minor nuisance, a threat to our kitchen windowsill coriander and broad beans, if we think of them at all but these innocous looking insects are capable of reducing wheat yields by up to 33% under the right circumstances <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2329700710841316556#1"><sup>1</sup></a>
. In the UK cereal insect outbreaks are typically treated with insecticides such as <a href="http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk/products/hallmarkwithzeontechnology/summary.aspx" target="_blank">HallmarkZeon </a>or <a href="http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk/products/aphox/summary.aspx" target="_blank">Aphox</a>.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/Sitobion_avenae_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/Sitobion_avenae_300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2136629788">The grain aphid </a><b><i><a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/insect-survey/STSitobion_avenae.php" target="_blank">Sitobion avenae</a>, image from Rothamsted Research</i></b></td></tr>
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The need to provide food for an ever expanding world population in an increasingly unpredictable climate, whilst reducing the environmental damage caused by current industrial farming techniques, is something that Rothamsted scientist are just as concerend about as the environmental protestors planning on disrupting their work. Indeed this trial, <a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Content.php?Section=Research&Page=Systems" target="_blank">like so much of Rothamsted's other work</a>, aims to provide practical tools to address these issues. No one is denying that the current system of food distribution is thoroughly inequitable, that the fact that famines and "Man Vs Food" can exist on the same planet is obscene, that women desperately need access to the contraceptives they want to protect their health and plan their families or that we need urgent action on the greenhouse emissions making the climate less hospitable for agriculture year by year, but none of this will happen overnight. In the short term we need new technologies, to feed more people from the same or even less land using fewer energy intensive and potentially environmentally damaging inputs like pesticides. That is where this wheat comes in.<br />
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The wheat in this trial produces aphid alarm pheromone, an airborne signal which aphids use to alert others to danger. This deters other aphids from landing close by and may attract natural predators by informing them that there are injured aphids nearby which will make an easy meal. This signalling system was "hacked" by plants in the mint family millenia ago, allowing them to naturally produce their own version of the pheromone which tricks aphids into thinking that they're a dangerous place to feed and so keeps them safe from predation. The trial aims to see whether this protection can be introduced into wheat.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Aphids responding to alarm pheromone</span></div>
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There does seem to be quite a lot of misinformation out there about this trial - firstly, the wheat does not contain a cow gene. What it contains is a synthetic promoter which has some sequence similarity to a cow promoter, which is not in fact the Laughing Cow's theatrical agent: a promoter is a short DNA sequence in front of a gene which tells the organism which circumstances to make the gene product under - at night say, or only in leaves. If the gene product is a birthday cake, the gene could be theought of as the recipe for the cake and the promoter would be your diary with a list of bakeworthy friends' birthdays, telling you when to make the cake. The cake in this case is the protein producing aphid alarm pheromone, the gene or recipe comes from a mint plant and the promoter had to be different from any promoters in the wheat already so the researchers could be sure it wouldn't be accidentally turned on in the wrong circumstances. It's basically the equivalent of a lot of random Filofax pages which were bound together by the researchers into something which happened to ressemble the diary of a sentient cow who knew how to bake birthday cakes and owned a Filofax. I'll stop there before I disappear up my own analogy, but you get the picture.<br />
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A number of measures have been taken to ensure that this wheat cannot escape into the wider environment. The variety of wheat selected for the trial is self pollinating, and the plot is surrounded by a buffer zone of barley, with which the wheat cannot cross-pollinate, far wider than the distance the heavy pollen can be blown ion the wind. The fact that it is self pollinating also means that contrary to some concerns out there, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are not exposed to gm pollen.<br />
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Concerns have also been raised about the possibility of apids evolving resistance to the alarm pheromone, citing the fact that insects evolve insecticide resistance. This is extremely unlikely: not only have aphids been exposed to alarm pheromone produced by the mint family for millenia without deveoping resistance, but unlike the situation with insecticides evolving resistance to alarm pheromone would have significant costs to an aphid, making it less responsive to genuine alarm pheromone and hence at greater risk of becoming a tasty snack for passing ladybirds already chomping on its sisters.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/broadbalk300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/broadbalk300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheat fields, image from Rothamsted Research</td></tr>
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A lot has also been made of the fact that this is spring wheat, not winter wheat which is more widely cultivated in the UK. Somehow the fact that this is a preliminary trial doesn't seem to have been explained - this test in spring wheat is only to find out whether the modified plants do indeed suffer less aphid damage. If this is inedeed the case the technology could be used in other varieties.<br />
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That's not to say there are no legitimate concerns about gm technology. With antibiotic resistance on the rise the use of antibiotic resistance genes as markers is being phased out. I presume an antibiotic resistance gene was used in this trial because it has been running for so long that it was started before alternatives became available but I have to admit that I don't know the reasoning behind this for certain. However, as I noted above this is a preliminary trial to test whether the principle works, rather than the finished agricultural product - if this wheat were to be developed further I'm sure a different marker system would be used. While the risks of horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance genes into bacteria from this trial are not zero, they are negligible when compared with the large scale routine use of antibiotics in the meat industry.<br />
<br />
You would be hard pressed to find anyone to argue that anything Monsanto has
done is beneficial, but just because a technology has been used for
profit with little concern for the environment doesn't mean the
technology is inherently bad - a gun and a teaspoon are both made by
metalwork but that does not mean they're used for the same thing<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2329700710841316556#2"><sup>2</sup></a>. <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/scotus-invalidates-breast-cancer-gene-patents.html" target="_blank">The patenting of gene variants assosciated with breast cancer was recently overturned</a>, but the fact that this particular technology was inappropriately commercialised doesn't invalidate the entire practice of genetic tests for disease.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/WheatField.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Photos/WheatField.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheat field, image from Rothamsted Research</td></tr>
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In the interests of full disclosure I should start be saying that I am a Phd student at Rothamsted. Part of my funding is provided through Rothamsted, although it will stop being provided through Rothamsted at the end of May when I come to the end of my PhD, at which point it will be provided by two blindness charities and most probably my ability to stack shelves in a grocery store. My work is nothing to do with this wheat project, but the aspect that concerns insect olfaction is partially supervised by John Pickett. I realise this leaves me open to suggestions that I'm biased because I'm too close to this research, but I'm sure a lot of the people supporting Take Back the Flour are commintted environmentalists with jobs dedicated to improving sustainability - by that logic should they not be allowed to hold opinions on environmental matters? My connection to Rothamsted allows me to know a little bit about the project and the participants; it means that I know both John Pickett and Gia Aradottir, and know that they are fundamentally decent people who are not doing this out of malice or for personal profit. John Pickett has an infectious laugh, plays the trumpet in a local jazz band and is the sort of person who can't bear to see a penniless student in a pub without a drink, a situation which he will always seek to remedy. He also knows a truly terrifying amount about how insects react to odours. Gia is one of the most compassionate people out there - she supported me when I had depression and I honestly don't think I would still be doing this PhD if it hadn't been for her. I don't know <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/Toby_Bruce" target="_blank">Toby Bruce</a> very well, but whenever I run into him in the kitchen he always asks me how my writeup is going, and I always say fine and smile uneasily. In short, they are perfectly pleasant human beings who don't wander about in labcoats bulging with wads of industrial cash, zapping corn dollies with lightning to make make Frankenflour whilst cackling maniaically.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.controverscial.com/Corn_Dollies_WEB.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.controverscial.com/Corn_Dollies_WEB.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It lives! It lives!</span></td></tr>
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I realise that I'm also open to the charge of hypocrisy, as my coeliac disease means I can't eat this genetically modified wheat or indeed any other wheat. If wheat were ever genetically modified to be gluten-free though, you can bet I'd eat it like a shot.<br />
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I'm a scientist but also consider myself an environmentalist. I first heard about Take the Flour Back from the newsletter of the Low Impact Living Initiative, to which I subscribe. I have the full crunchy-granola starter kit of Keep Cup, Mooncap and garden wormery, and most importantly I know which goes where. I grow garden veg, worry about food miles, carry my purchases from the People's Supermarket home by public transport in my reusable Turtle Bag, and keep rotting kitchen scraps for composting in a tin labelled "biscuits" to trick the unwary.<br />
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Watching Newsnight was an odd experience for me because the Take the Flour Back speaker, Jyoti Fernanades, is in many ways living my dream - she has a mixed smallholding in Dorset which she farms sustainably and teaches courses on. I've always harboured a secret dream of finding some land in the west country, building a cob or strawbale house, planting a forest garden and keeping bees and silkworms, maybe some livestock. If I'd encountered her in other circumstances I'd probably have considered her a fellow traveller, so it was strange to hear her on television espousing views that I disagree with entirely. I'm also rather disappointed that Transition Heathrow, who are doing <a href="http://www.transitionheathrow.com/grow-heathrow/" target="_blank">great things</a> on an abandoned market garden near where I live, are supporting this action.<br />
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I'm not saying this to ask for a cookie (although a cookie would be nice, especially if it was made out of the afforementioned gluten-free wheat) but to demonstrate that it's possible to both be a scientist and care about the environment. In fact it's not just possibly, I'm guessing it's common.<br />
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I care because I'm a human - the natural world is an incredibly beautiful place and nothing can approach the pleasure of walking the same route every day for years and watching it change through the seasons, from the bleak grey of winter through the merest hint of green to a riot of hawthorne and elder, or the joy of locking eyes with a robin whilst gardening and feeling, just for a fraction of a second, a moment of connection, or the awe I felt seeing the Milky Way from Africa, free of light pollution for the first time. I plan on spawning some day, and I want my theoretical future children to be able to experience that same wonder. But I also care as a scientist - awe is magnified by understanding.<br />
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I remember the first time I learned about the water cycle and the nitrogen cycle in primary school, realising how nothing is created or destroyed but that we are all part of a finite closed system. I remember the first time I saw an insect under a microscope at secondary school (oddly ebough it was a housefly), being astounded by the precise construction of this tiny living thing, with all it hairs and protrusions and graceful curves. I remember thinking "Wow, if a fly looks like that what must I look like under a microscope?" and being so disappointed when I put my own finger under and found it to be featureless, realising for the first time that humans were not the most amazing things out there. I remember learning about evolution, the amazement I felt on realising that this blind, directionless system had designed beings that fit their environment so perfectly, the profound sense of connection I felt to the rest of the natural world on realising that all of us, earthworms and frogs and dandelions and amoebae and me, were built from the same basic building blocks by the same biochemical pathways. The natural world is more incredible than we can possibly imagine, and personally I feel that anything but a scientific appreciation of it sells it short.<br />
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I seem to have spent much of this post finding "-ist" words I can use to describe myself: scientist, environmentalist, ecologist. First and foremost though I'm a humanist - we are the only creatures on this planet who can feel that awe and wonder at the natural world and that makes us special, each and every one of the seven billion plus of us. If all of us are to be fed on a finite planet, and not just enough to survive but to thrive and to have the same opportunity I have to rejoice in all the glory of nature, then something has to give and I strongly believe that an evidence-based approach, considering all the technologies available to us, is the best way to ensure that as little has to give as possible.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Graphics/BigCornerCarbon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Graphics/BigCornerCarbon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sustainability: Rothamsted's <a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Content.php?Section=Research&Page=Carbon" target="_blank">carbon-capture experiments</a>, image from Rothamsted Research</td></tr>
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In conclusion, supporters of Take the Flour Back must realise that the scientists conducting this experiement are ordinary people concerned about feeding an ever-growing population
whilst reducing damage to our shared planet, just like they are. We need to keep talking and listening, building rather than destroying, because we're all on the same side here.<br />
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Sense About Science is running a <a href="http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/rothamsted-appeal.html" target="_blank">campaign </a>appealing to these activists not to destroy this vital research. <a href="http://www.senseaboutscience.org/petition.php?page=1" target="_blank">You can sign the petition here</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2329700710841316556" name="1">Oakley, J.N., S.D. Wratten, A.F.G. Dixon and N. Carter. 1988. The Biology of Cereal Aphids. Home Grown Cereals Authority. Research Report No. 10.</a>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2329700710841316556" name="2">It has been pointed out to me that you could, in fact, stir your tea with a small gun.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-59445070163782303432011-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:002011-11-25T06:20:57.322-08:00RebootWell it’s been a while, to start with a bit of a blogging cliché. I took a bit of a break from blogging, and indeed from my PhD and much of my life, because of depression. I was going to write about the depression but then I realised you're here to read about insects and poo (at least I thought you were, though according to my page view statistics you're here to read about Crowded House and David Attenborough). If you really want to know what depression feels like I'd recommend reading <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html">this</a>, which has to be one of the most heartbreaking things featuring pasta I've ever seen.<br /><br />So I’m back at university, and I’m just about coping, and I’m going to see how far I can go. I want to get what I’ve done out there so it can be useful, and I’m assured that some of it would be publishable quality with a little bit more work, even if I have trouble believing that myself. Whether or not I go on to try for a PhD is a question for the future. I think that the focus of this blog will change a bit though; concentrating on my PhD to the exclusion of everything else probably contributed to my sprained brain, so I’m going to aim to write some more general entomological posts, reminding myself why I love this subject in all its multilegged glory in the first place. Hence the name change; I won't be doing any more fieldwork, and Geek in South West London doesn't have much of a ring to it.<br /><br /><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:transparent;" id="internal-source-marker_0.4937439479224838" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/9152579/images/1271168866063.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/9152579/images/1271168866063.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-41832328832778891832011-10-31T09:02:00.000-07:002011-11-25T06:16:34.649-08:00Happy Halloween everyone!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.biodiversityinfocus.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/DSC_0288.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 411px; height: 274px;" src="http://www.biodiversityinfocus.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/DSC_0288.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Source of the awesome: <a href="http://www.biodiversityinfocus.com/blog/2010/10/27/ent-o-lantern-2008">Biodiversity in Focus </a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-68217691452684829002011-04-28T05:30:00.000-07:002011-04-28T05:37:18.623-07:00A quick plugIf anyone's been missing tales of bad weather and body odour in exotic locales, a friend of mine is <a href="http://chindani.wordpress.com/">cycling across South America</a> at the moment. We're running a sweepstake on how long it takes him to become a Colombian drugs baron.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-6618068942632858752010-08-26T09:33:00.000-07:002011-11-25T06:16:56.338-08:00Ever seen a maggot under an electron microscope?<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View/3895974912"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 396px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/8/25/7fc000f6-4ed6-4926-b163-760867c783f6.jpg" border="0" /></a> Huhurhur, yur goofy lookin!<br /><div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2329700710841316556.post-71010061620031395222010-08-25T04:39:00.000-07:002013-03-17T05:43:02.299-07:00Dangers at dusk: is it time to move beyond bednets?<div>
<i>I originally wrote this for The Guardian's "<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition">Write the World</a>" International development journalism competition. You can see the winning pieces <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/finalists">here</a>, some of which are excellent. I'd particularly recommend "<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/aid-alive-or-dead">Aid: Dead or alive</a>?" for a more balanced discusion of the benefits and pitfalls of western aid than you usually find in the papers.</i></div>
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Cattle amble lazily back to their night time pastures as the sun sets over the tiny Gambian village of Wellingara. In dusty compound courtyards women stoke the fires that will cook the evening meal of rice and oily stews, while in the streets their husbands wait for their dinner, brewing tooth-achingly sweet attaya tea over charcoal braziers. As the coals smoulder and light-hearted banter or serious matters of village politics fill the evening air you could be forgiven for thinking this was one of the most tranquil places on earth. But all is not as peaceful as it appears.</div>
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“You can tell the people who are not from around here because they fight themselves” laughs Tumani, a fieldworker for The Gambia’s Medical Research Council, as he demonstrates how foreigners slap their faces and arms when they feel mosquitoes landing. Locals enjoying the relative cool of the evening know instead to brush the pests from exposed skin, their hands in continuous, fluid motion. Whatever strategies are employed against it though, early evening mosquito biting before people go to bed is a problem which mosquito nets are unable to tackle.</div>
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Uptake of bednets in The Gambia has been extraordinarily successful, with almost three quarters of households estimated to own at least one. Although malaria-focussed health education campaigns have doubtless increased their use, like the elaborately carved hardwood beds bought for newlyweds bednets have become something of a status symbol with perceived benefits that go far beyond malaria control. They catch detritus falling from traditional thatched roofs, provide a measure of privacy in a country where large extended families typically share a compound and are appreciated as interior decoration. In the local markets gaudily coloured nets swing in the breeze, adorned with lacy ruffles like some bizarre cross between a jelly fish and a wedding dress. While there are of course caveats – many of the locally produced nets are untreated with insecticides that protect people sleeping against the nets from bites, and the youngest children most vulnerable to malaria may not be the ones sleeping under the nets – with malaria infections and deaths in decline in The Gambia, this tiny country provides an encouraging example of what could be achieved by widespread adoption of insecticide-treated bednets.</div>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1URI096pdlkwzANZr9lQiuoNd_SHHCsLOts6QwmYDKnZIoP5DFIJ3m3m8XmM4537mXR5mn7IgK_4FeuEbjXIdZMcfU8HbjbRDiMn-Mf8OLjNTII_L_lnIcvl0BreqQ8rmfwURse_AL0Y/s640/DSC00475.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 480px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /> <br />
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Unfortunately it seems that in some areas bednets are becoming victims of their own success. The most effective nets are those treated with pyrethroid insecticides, but in some parts of Africa populations of mosquitoes are evolving resistance to pyrethroids and as treated nets become more common resistance will offer a greater survival advantage and so is likely to spread through the population. </div>
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Concerns are also emerging that malarial mosquitoes may be changing their behaviour to bite earlier in the evening before people are protected by nets. To complicate matters humans are also changing their behaviour; particularly in urban areas where development may bring electric light and flickering televisions beaming Brazilian telenovelas or Kung Fu movies to rapt audiences, people are staying up later after sundown and remaining exposed to mosquitoes for longer. Taking into consideration the fact that malaria is not the only disease transmitted by mosquitoes - the species that transmits yellow fever, for example, is active at dusk – the importance of preventing early evening biting becomes increasingly apparent.</div>
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Large-scale mosquito control programmes, such as those treating water sources where mosquitoes breed with chemical or biological insecticides, have had impressive results in some areas but require a great deal of political will, organisation and stability to scale up and so may not be appropriate everywhere. Instead the use of repellents, chemicals that smell unpleasant to mosquitoes, is being suggested as an approach that can be targeted at the household level as bednets can. </div>
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Tourists and travellers visiting malaria-endemic areas have long protected themselves with DEET, the plastic-melting personal repellent that can be rubbed on skin, and with the development of gentler personal repellents such as those derived from lemon eucalyptus oil there has been interest in extending the benefits to the local population. This work is in its early stages, but results from work in Bolivia on the effects of personal repellents in addition to nets are encouraging. However, as campaigns to promote handwashing with soap in Africa have shown, encouraging a change in habits is difficult and attempting to foster a culture of repellent use from scratch where none existed before would be challenging to say the least.</div>
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Another approach is the use of spatial repellents, odorous chemicals which disperse and so could make a wide area, for example the veranda of a house, unattractive to mosquitoes. Here signs are perhaps more encouraging; families in The Gambia already regularly burn mosquito coils or local herbs to deter evening biting insects, and as our knowledge of mosquito behaviour and biology increases we will be increasingly well placed to evaluate the effectiveness of these particular blends and to design new mixtures of odours and methods of delivering them.</div>
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Of course the use of repellents may simply provide a different pressure for mosquito populations to evolve their way around. Peaceful as the streets of Wellingara may appear as the tropical sun slips below the horizon, in the ongoing war between humans and mosquitoes they are in fact a battle ground.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501987706898459702noreply@blogger.com0