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There are microscopic nematode worms that can be
a potent organic insecticide, killing crop raiding bugs without
harming plants or beneficial insects and without the
environmental side effects of chemicals. When this worm
H. bacteriophora
finds an insect in the soil,
it crawls inside and vomits up special
bacteria that had hitched a ride with the worm. The bacteria
quickly kill the insect and spread, and the worm gobbles up the
bacteria and reproduces. The bacteria and baby worms eat what’s
left of the bug and then head off in search of another
insect host.
Plants and other
useful insects like bees, are not effected and the worms are not
toxic to humans, so they are only a threat to beetles targeted
by the worm which include Japanese Beetle, Colorado Beetle many
species of weevils and many other beetles that wreck havoc on
various crops.
The worms occur
naturally in concentrations too small to be effective at
eradicating pests, but farmers can purchase bulk quantities of
nematodes mass produced in huge fermentation tanks and spread
them through irrigation. Unfortunately the Lab-grown worms
become wimps, and are less deadly to insects when grown away
from their natural habitat, they don’t reproduce or find hosts
as well. Scientists working on the project think this is due to
inbreeding and are working to find a solution to this
problem.
 The
Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Kiel, Germany are
preparing a fleet of
High-Tech Robot
‘Gliders’ to explore the tropical Atlantic. These instruments
can
explore the oceans
like sailplanes up to a depth of 1000 metres. In doing so they
only consume as much energy as a bike light. In the next years
up to ten of these instruments will take measurements to better
understand many processes in the ocean. The gliders can carry
out autonomous missions for weeks or even months, and are
equipped with instruments to measure temperature, salinity,
oxygen and chlorophyll content as well as the turbidity of the
water. The gliders can transmit their data and be reached by the
scientists via satellite telephone and programmed with new
mission parameters or set a new course.
Bottlenose
Dolphins were seen 4 times during the day on 1st January off St
Ives and 6 times at various times on January 2nd. They were also
seen off St Ives on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 15th, so they
spent most of the early part of the month in that area.
Dolphins were also
seen off St Ives on the 13th, 20th, 21st, 24th 26th and 27th,
these were almost certainly the Bottlenose seen early in the
month. A pod of 8 Bottlenose Dolphin were also seen off
Sennen on the 26th.
Harbour Porpoises were seen off Gwennap Head
on the 2nd and 26th of the month and also off Penberth and The
Brisons on the 19th and 20th. A Fin Whale was seen near The
Runnelstone on the 8th and the tail of another whale was seen as
it dived off Dolor Point near the Lizard on the 24th of the
month
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