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☆ 10 Israeli soldiers hospitalized for wasp stings after their tank ran over a swarm's nest in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip injured twelve IDF soldiers. Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv treated the wounded soldiers, with one requiring intensive care. AdvertisementTwelve IDF soldiers were injured after being attacked by a swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reports. Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer admitted 10 of the wounded soldiers for treatment, with one requiring intensive care, said the report. In the wasp incident, the swarm was provoked by a tank rolling over its nest.

Persons: —, Efrat Katz Organizations: Gaza, Gaza Division's Southern Brigade, Sheba Medical, Service, Gaza Division's, Brigade, Sheba Medical Center, IDF, US Marine, Business Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tel Hashomer, Kentucky, Nirim, Hamas

☆ ‘Moths to a flame’: Insect behavior around light isn’t about attraction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Gaining a better understanding of the impact of artificial light on these winged creatures is crucial as light pollution plays an increasing role in the decline of global insect populations, the researchers wrote. Artificial light confuses nocturnal insectsWhen artificial light does not interfere, nocturnal insects keep their backs pointed toward whatever direction is brightest, which is typically the sky versus the ground. By using insect-scale motion-capture cameras, the researchers determined that the flying insects exhibited three consistent behaviors: orbiting, stalling and inverting. Moths and other insects can become trapped in a disorienting orbit around artificial light sources such as street lamps and porch lights. The new findings could help with conservation by fueling research on how to minimize the effects of light pollution on the insects, Dombroskie said.

Persons: it’s, critters, Samuel Fabian, Sam Fabian “, … It’s, ” Fabian, that’s, ”, Yash Sondhi, Sondhi, Sam Fabian, Fabian, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ancestrally, “, Jason Dombroskie, Dombroskie Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Imperial College London’s, Florida Museum, Florida International University, Smithsonian National Museum of, Cornell, Insect, National Wildlife Foundation Locations: bioengineering, Miami, Washington , DC

☆ 2 essentials this doctor stocks up on every cold and flu season: 'I try to avoid taking OTC medications if I can'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Honey For years, people have claimed that eating honey, especially locally-collected honey, is a great way to lessen seasonal allergies. I use honey for the common cold, and it's perfectly safe. "I use honey for the common cold, and it's perfectly safe." Around cold and flu season, Mafi stocks up on garlic for symptom relief for colds. "There is a small amount of evidence that garlic can help reduce the severity and duration of the common cold," Mafi says.

Persons: John Mafi, Mafi, Honey, Timothy Wong, I've, didn't Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, General Internal Medicine, Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, CNBC, British Medical, American Academy of Pediatrics, Cochrane

☆ Five graphics that show some of the biggest threats facing the natural world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Flo Cornall | Woojin Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In a series of graphics, we take a look at some of the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. Global wildlife populations plummeted by 69% on average between 1970 and 2018, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022. Swipe to see more Forest loss Note: These figures do not include regrowth or regeneration of forest. But many are facing threats from pesticides and crop monocultures, as well as the destruction of their habitats. Swipe to see more Bird populations Source: BirdlifeDespite the scale of the challenges, there are countless groups and individuals committed to protecting our planet.

Persons: it’s Organizations: CNN, Resources Institute, Global, UN, University of Sheffield, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, British Trust for Ornithology, Birdlife Locations: California, Hawaii, India

☆ Margaret Renkl Writes in the Space Between Grief and Hope
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Dina Gachman | More About Dina Gachman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many of the black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, and zinnias have been picked dry by birds and insects. The caretaker of this garden, the author and essayist Margaret Renkl, leads me to her leaf-strewn deck out back, to show me a glimmer of hope. She placed the monarch caterpillar and the butterfly weed it was attached to inside the cage to protect it from red wasps. “They look like little jewels,” Renkl said of the chrysalis. In her new book, “The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year,” published on Oct. 24, her powers of perception are on full display.

Persons: Margaret Renkl, Renkl hasn’t, ” Renkl, ” Organizations: Alabama lilt, chrysalis Locations: Nashville, Tennessee, Alabama

☆ France-based Arundell can play in Six Nations, but not Willis: RFU
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Willis signed for Toulouse last November after Wasps collapsed but was allowed to play for England in this year's Six Nations. Willis left the England squad last week after a neck injury ended his World Cup. England's performance director Conor O’Shea said he hoped the situation with Arundell would be confirmed in the next few weeks. "They will only play for England while they are here (in camp)," he said. "It's the best for club, it's the best for country, it's the best for the player.

Persons: Henry Arundell, Bill Sweeney, Jack Willis, Arundell, Willis, couldn’t, England –, Sweeney, Henry, Conor O’Shea, Joe Marchant, Dave Ribbans, it's, O'Shea, Mitch Phillips, Peter Rutherford Organizations: England, Nations, French, Racing, London Irish, RFU, Irish, Wasps, Worcester, Samoa, Chile, Toulouse, Six Nations, Rugby Players, Association, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, Toulouse, England

☆ A microbiologist explains where and what she won't eat to avoid food poisoning
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Primrose Freestone | The Conversation Uk | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Every year, around 2.4 million people in the UK get food poisoning– mostly from viral or bacterial contamination. Eating outdoorsI rarely eat alfresco – whether picnics or barbecues – as the risk of food poisoning goes up when food is taken outdoors. For barbecues, meat needs to be thoroughly cooked, and a meat thermometer is a good investment to avoid food poisoning. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is also possible to pick up food poisoning from eating any raw shellfish (clams, mussels, whelks, cockles). The benefits of being a microbiologist are that we know how to avoid food poisoning and, in return, people have confidence our cooking is very safe to eat.

Persons: Primrose Freestone, —, I'm, Silas Stein, Lisa Marion Smith, Francisco Bonilla Organizations: Service, Getty, US Centers for Disease Control, Reuters, University of Leicester Locations: San Pancho, vibriosis

☆ US military barracks are so neglected that troops in one facility are left to clean up 'biological waste that may remain in a barracks room after a suicide,' government report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

At one facility, service members are responsible for "cleaning biological waste that may remain in a barracks room after a suicide," said the Tuesday report filed by the Government Accountability Office, citing officials at the barracks. "Thousands of service members live in barracks below standards, according to officials," the report said. Military personnel in all 12 discussion groups said their barracks conditions affected their mental health, the report said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe report said service members in at least six of 12 discussion groups spoke of bedbugs, rodents, cockroaches, and wasps in their barracks. Ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems were broken at all 10 facilities visited by investigators, the report said.

Persons: GAO Organizations: Service, Government, GAO, Defense Department, US Army, Military, Pentagon, Department of Defense, The Defense Department, DOD Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ This Tiny Parasitic Wasp Can Drill Through Plastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Darren Incorvaia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By the time Matvey Nikelshparg was 13, he was obsessed with parasitoid wasps, tiny insects that lay their eggs on or inside other bugs. Under a microscope in a lab he had assembled at home, he discovered that one species had a startling superpower: It could use an organ that protrudes from its abdomen to drill through a plastic petri dish. Eupelmus messene is a whisper of a wasp. The insect’s target is the larvae of other wasp species, which lay their eggs inside of galls in an effort to protect them from danger. In his experiments at home, Mr. Nikelshparg had set out to study what would happen if there were multiple E. messene wasps and only one host larva.

Persons: Nikelshparg, messene Organizations: Saratov State University, Research Locations: Russia

☆ Samoa name former Australia star Leali'ifano to start against Chile
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Lawrence White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Rules change means former Wallabies flyhalf eligibleSamoa target Chile clash as most winnable Pool D gameFormer All Blacks Luatua and Sopoaga also featureTOULOUSE, France, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Samoa have selected 35-year-old Christian Leali'ifano, who scored the most points for Australia at the 2019 World Cup, as flyhalf in their opening Pool D clash against Chile in Bordeaux on Saturday. Samoa are taking advantage of a relaxation in World Rugby's eligibility rules, which means players who stand down for three years from appearing for one country can then play for another for which they qualify. That means they can also field former All Blacks Steven Luatua, who starts at number eight, and the versatile Lima Sopoaga as a replacement back. Former Highlanders and Wasps player Sopoaga can play at flyhalf or fullback and, while New Zealand-born, qualifies for Samoa through his family background. Samoa will target Chile, the lowest ranked team at the tournament, as their most winnable game in a pool also containing England, Argentina and Japan as they look to progress from the pool stage for the first time since 1999.

Persons: Sopoaga, Leali'ifano, Blacks Steven Luatua, Theo McFarland, James Lay, Seilala Lam, Michael Alaalatoa, Chris Vui, Agaese Seu, Fritz Lee, Steven Luatua, Jonathan Taumateine, Nigel Ah, Danny Toala, Duncan Paia'aua, Jordan, Paul Alo, Emile, Sam Slade, Sa Jordan, Ed Fidow, Lawrence White, Ken Ferris Organizations: Wallabies, Blacks, Australia, Chile, Saturday, Samoa, Lima, Former Highlanders, Wasps, flyhalf, The Pacific Islanders, English, Saracens, Manu, Junior, Jordan Lay, Lima Sopoaga, Thomson Locations: Samoa, Chile, TOULOUSE, France, Bordeaux, New Zealand, England, Argentina, Japan, Fiji, Lima

☆ Rugby World Cup: After triumphing with the All Blacks, Malakai Fekitoa has found a ‘new purpose’ with Tonga
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Long before he had the chance to travel to New Zealand, Fekitoa set his sights on competing for the All Blacks – undoubtedly the most famous rugby team on the planet. “It was always a dream of mine to play for New Zealand, even though I was born and raised in Tonga,” Fekitoa tells CNN Sport. Fekitoa tries to force his way through a tackle during a Rugby Championship match between New Zealand and Argentina in 2014. The change has proved particularly beneficial for Tonga, which, as well as Fekitoa, has named former All Blacks Vaea Fifita, George Moala and Charles Piutau in its squad for the ongoing Rugby World Cup in France. After the rule change, he thinks more All Blacks players will follow his lead by swapping allegiances.

Persons: Fekitoa, ” Fekitoa, Jonah Lomu, Cameron Spencer, –, haven’t, Fifita, George Moala, Charles Piutau, Leon Lord, Adam Coleman, Israel Folau, “, ”, “ I’m, I’ve, Richard Heathcote, It’s, James Crombie, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, All Blacks, New Zealand, CNN Sport, Tonga, Wellington Sevens, Wesley College, Rugby, Blacks, Fiji, Getty, Australia, Ireland, Wasps, Gloucester, Tonga –, Rugby Championship, Nations, United Rugby, Munster, Romania, Tonga’s, Tongan, Kiwi, New Locations: Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Auckland, Argentina, Europe, Monaco, France, AFP, New, England, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Scotland, Samoa

☆ Silkworm sashimi, cricket curry on menu as bugs make a comeback in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Almond tofu with beetle larvae is pictured at Take-Noko cafe in Tokyo, Japan, July 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, July 26 (Reuters) - On a recent vacation in Tokyo, Takumi Yamamoto opted for a special lunch of cricket curry and silkworm sashimi, washed down with a water bug cider. In particular, the water bug cider was quite refreshing and delicious, like a green apple." While some consumers think eating insects is just gross, Japan has a rich culinary history of insects as food. The delicate "sashimi" is the left-over casing of silkworms, and the cider is infused with water bug extract and topped with a whole insect, said to taste like shrimp.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Hoon, Takumi Yamamoto, Yamamoto, Entomophagy, Michiko Miura, Miura, Takeo Saito, Saito, Rocky Swift, Tom Bateman, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, United, Grasshoppers, Nippon Telegraph, Telephone, Takeo, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Hoon TOKYO, Hyogo, United Nations, silkworms, Pasco

☆ Missing genes in ‘mind-controlling’ worms pose an evolutionary puzzle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

However, when the scientists compared their horsehair worm genomes with genomic information from other animals, something was missing, Cunha told CNN. Two live tangled freshwater horsehair worms, scientifically called Gordionus violaceus, were found in Germany. Mysteries remain about the worms’ movementsAs useful as cilia are, horsehair worms seem to be doing just fine without them, the scientists reported. To date, scientists have identified several hundred species of freshwater horsehair worms and five species of marine horsehair worms. Marine horsehair worms spend their entire lives in water, but freshwater species are only aquatic as adults.

Persons: —, australiensis, munidae, Tauana Cunha, Cunha, “, ”, “ It’s, Gonzalo Giribet, nematomorphs, Keiichi Kakui, Kakui, ” Kakui, Martin Sørensen, Ophiocordyceps, Bruno de Medeiros, California’s Organizations: CNN, Chicago’s Field, Harvard University, Hokkaido University, HBO, Field, Monument Locations: Germany, Japan, nematomorphs, California’s Muir

☆ An Avian Murder Case on a Quiet Back Porch
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Daryln Brewer Hoffstot | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I open the pantry door and the eastern phoebe flies off the nest. Before eastern phoebes lived so close to humans, they built their nests on cliffs. Every year for 35 years, we’ve had an eastern phoebe nest under the eaves of our back porch. Eastern phoebes have the distinction of being the first bird ever banded, in 1804 by John James Audubon himself. He, too, watched an eastern phoebe nest at his farm in Mill Grove, Pa., about 200 miles east of here as the flycatcher flies.

Persons: we’ve, phoebe, ”, John James Audubon Locations: phoebes, North America, Virginia, Mill Grove, Pa

☆ This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. Join In.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. This data will help scientists understand better how birds are affected by forces like climate change and habitat loss. We’re obviously a little bit biased here, so I’m going to recommend the Merlin Bird ID app. Nearly half of all bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be in decline, and climate change could accelerate this trend. Look up past reports of that species on the eBird Species Map and zoom in on your city.

Persons: Mike McQuade, We’ll, Michelle Mildenberg Daryln Brewer Hoffstot, phoebe, Hoffstot, Indigo Goodson, “, Kirsten Luce, Alli Smith, Merlin, —, It’s, That’s, Andrew Spear, ”, Tom Auer, Mr, Auer, birders, James T, Tanner, Steven C, Latta, Chris Elphick, . Latta, Michaels, et, Christine Schuldheisz, Richard O ., Ivory, they’d, Mark, Elphick, there’s, ” Dr, eBird, I’m Organizations: Birds, Cornell, of Ornithology, The New York Times, New York Times, University of Connecticut, Credit, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Yale, Times, Cornell Lab, Walmart Locations: Pennsylvania, North America, Virginia, South America, Canada, Alaska, Louisiana, Pittsburgh, United States, Cuba, Arkansas, eBird

☆ All Hail the King (of the Termites)
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Elizabeth Preston | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As the royals don’t leave their chamber, workers give them regurgitated food from their own mouths. Other colony-living insects spike their mouth-to-mouth meals with chemicals for communication, Dr. Vargo said. The termite king, performing his marital duties, helps his mate produce as many as 15,000 eggs each day. “The reproductive throne is inherited by one or more of their offspring,” Dr. Thorne said. “Termites are amazing, and super important in their native habitats for decomposition and recycling of nutrients,” Dr. Thorne said.

☆ Sale, Worcester conditionally offered spots in Premier 15s in 2023-24
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) has issued conditional offers for Sale Sharks Women and Worcester Warriors Women to join the Premier 15s for the 2023-24 season, it said on Wednesday. Including Sale would help grow the game in the north, the RFU said. There was no place for Sale, Worcester, Wasps and Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, with the RFU saying that teams would still have a chance to join at a later stage. "The RFU has therefore developed a package of support (...), which coupled with a strategy for further investment will allow Sale Sharks to adequately address the feedback from the tender panel." Worcester have recently secured funding to enable them to continue to operate, RFU added, and have also been offered a conditional place in the competition.

☆ The World’s Biggest Airports Confront a Tiny But Serious Safety Threat—Wasps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Mike Cherney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRISBANE, Australia—Every week, workers at one of Australia’s major airports spend hours searching the tarmac and terminals for a security threat that could bring down an airplane. The inspectors at Brisbane Airport, in Australia’s third biggest city, are hunting for the keyhole wasp, an introduced species that builds nests in Pitot tubes—a crucial instrument on the fuselage that tells pilots how fast they are flying. The wasps, which build nests out of mud, can block a tube in as little as 20 minutes. They are smaller than similar native species and have distinctive rings on their bodies.

☆ 'Vulture bees' feed their babies rotting flesh, even though it breeds toxin-producing bacteria. They're a mystery to scientists.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Vulture bees" feed their larvae rotting meat instead of relying on pollen like other bees. Scientists hung raw chicken in Costa Rica and watched vulture bees fill their leg pouches and stomachs with it. Sure enough, the researchers discovered that vulture bees' guts may be more like actual vultures or hyenas than their pollen-gathering relatives. The vulture bees had lots of acid-producing bacteria like lactobacillus, probably creating a far more acidic gut than their pollen-eating cousins. They want to study what happens in the pods where the vulture bees store meat before feeding it to their larvae.

☆ Wales flyhalf Biggar leaves Northampton to join Toulon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar has left Northampton Saints with immediate effect and joined French side Toulon, the English Premiership club said on Friday. Biggar joined Saints from Ospreys in 2018, making 69 appearances for the club and guiding them to two fourth-placed finishes. "I move on with a heavy heart and I am grateful to the Club for their understanding throughout the process. Biggar has 103 caps for Wales, winning the Six Nations title in 2013 and 2021. Saints' chief executive Mark Darbon said Biggar left with the club's "very best wishes," adding that the Welshman's move was brought forward because Toulon's offer was contingent on him moving immediately.

☆ RFU working with Wasps, administrators to find possible buyers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wasps made 167 players and staff redundant, British media reported, after going into administration on Monday, a week after they were suspended by the RFU. The RFU said in a statement that it was speaking daily with administrators and the league to examine whether there was any possibility of a takeover. RFU regulations state that a club placed in administration during the season will be relegated for the following campaign. "The RFU and Premiership Rugby have been working for some time to develop a sustainable model for rugby to deliver long term prosperity for the sport," RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said. "The RFU and Premiership Rugby have acknowledged the need to set a more sustainable path for club rugby," DCMS committee chair Julian Knight said.

☆ Players need to join talks on Premiership future, says George
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Players need to have a say in the future of Premiership rugby after Wasps and Worcester Warriors went into administration, Saracens and England hooker Jamie George said on Tuesday. Wasps made 167 players and staff redundant, British media reported, after going into administration on Monday, while Worcester went into administration last month. England's Rugby Football Union regulations state that a club placed in administration during the season will be relegated for the following campaign. "I think the players need to be at the forefront of it. "I don't have all the answers but I am hoping people behind the scenes at the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players' Association are having these conversations," he said.

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