How Contagious Are Bedbugs?

In the past bedbugs have been accused of spreading everything from cholera to polio to bubonic plague, though there is no evidence to support the idea that they spread disease. The current resurgence of the pest in America and talk of a 'Bedbug Apocalypse' has experts looking for answers. Three factors determine whether a plague spreads or dies: the rate people come into contact with the pathogen, how long an infection remains contagious and how easily the contagion is spread. These factors, multiplied together give you the basic reproduction number of an infection, the average number of people who will be infected by a single case. If the number is below 1, the contagion dies out, if it is greater than 1 then the contagion spreads.

Read More at Slate

Posted by Astrojenny

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Whale Fall – The After Life Of A Whale

A wonderful video animation. Sweet Fern Productions have used intricate paper cutouts to show the different stages of decomposition that a whale carcass undergoes once it falls to the bottom of the ocean. Each phase is beautifully illustrated with music by the Kentucky-based band Rachel's.

Watch Video at Radiolab Blog

Posted by Astrojenny

Hat tip to Adam Rutherford

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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The Most Surreal Insects On Earth

Meet the Brazilian treehopper, Bocydium globulare. This replica made by Alfred Keller for the Berlin's Museum of Natural History may look like the product of some science fiction writer's imagination, but is based on a real insect, also known as "The Bell Bearer". As if this and the rest of the gallery of surreal insects aren't enough, I also include a bonus gallery of some of nature's most glamorous insects and arachnids.

View Surreal gallery at DRB

View Glamorous Gallery at DRB

Posted by Astrojenny

Hat tip to Anthony Cunningham

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The World's Biggest Megavirus!

For a long time giant viruses had been mistaken for bacteria due to their enormous size. A flu virus may have ten or so genes while a giant virus may have 1,000 genes. The largest virus on Earth, Megavirus chilensis, has recently been discovered in the sea off Chile with 1,120 genes. It is 10 to 20 times wider than the average virus. Its genome is 1.259 million base pairs long, 6.5% longer than the previous record holder, Mimivirus, which was found in a water cooling tower in the UK in 1992. Megavirus has 258 genes not found in Mimivirus. So did Megavirus pick up these extra genes from other sources or did Mimivirus lose some genes? The hunt is now on to find more giant viruses to compare.

Read More at The Loom

Posted by Astrojenny

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The Hyperaggressive Rat

In a story straight out of Orwell's Room 101 in 1984, Russian scientists have, since 1972, been conducting a genetic experiment that has resulted in a breed of super vicious rats. In the experiment two colonies of wild rats have been selectively bred, one for tameness & the other for aggression. It is the degree of difference between the two colonies & the speed of change that has surprised the scientists, with geneticist Svante Pääbo declaring of the aggressive rats that "10 or 20 of them would probably kill me if they got out of the cages." Several key regions of the genome involving half a dozen genes have been identified as being key. The next step is to locate the individual genes involved.

Read More at New Scientist

Posted by Astrojenny

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More British Birds Dying Of Malaria

A worldwide analysis into over 3,000 species around the world has found that 30 species of British garden birds including nightingales, sparrows and chaffinches are infected with malaria. The rise is attributed to increased mosquito populations caused by a 1ºC rise in temperature due to global warming. The avian version of malaria cannot be passed to humans.

Read More at The Guardian

Posted by Astrojenny

 

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8 Ingenious Ways Animals Outsmart Predators

Hognose snakes fake their own murder. While some crabs are expert at camouflage, dinoflagellates make themselves highly visible when attacked by flashing bioluminescence that will draw attention to their attacker. The vampire squid is so lazy that when attacked it uses optical illusion to make it look as though it is running away. The hagfish seriously slimes its attacker. The veined octopus will fashion a fortress out of shells & debris. Sea cucumbers vomit their guts out of their anus and the horned lizard shoots blood out of its eyes! Another collection of some of the more bizarre aspects of nature from Cracked.com.

Read More at Cracked.com WARNING: Strong Language

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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