The 'easyJet ecoJet' would emit 50 percent less CO2 than today's newest ...
Friday May 5, 2006
More Images...
![]()
May 4, 2006
Image of the Day: Hoverfly: Nature's Helicopter![]()
May 2, 2006
Image of the Day: The Metamorphosis Gene
Asian longhorned beetles might have eluded their last scientist. Researchers have developed a genetic fingerprinting technique for tracking and identifying the invasive insect's excrement.
The new technique, developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists Wayne Hunter and Michael Smith, quickly screens droppings on trees known to attract the pest. If a sample matches the beetle's fingerprint, scientists will know they have a potential infestation on their hands.
The beetles are one of the country's "most wanted" invasives for two reasons. First, it chomps on hardwoods--such as maple, elm, and birch--which puts forests and tree-lined neighborhoods in danger.
Second, it's a sneaky killer. The beetle inflicts its greatest damage while hidden deep inside trees. Immature Asian longhorned beetles create elaborate tunnels while feeding on the interior, which weakens the trees until they snap in half or need to be cut down.
Smith has also found a weapon for controlling the alien insect--an insecticide, already in use against other pests, that is nearly 100 percent effective against the beetles in just minutes.
Currently, crews must climb trees one by one and scrutinize the bark for the faintest signs of invasive beetle activity, but the crews could use the pesticide as a quicker-acting detector--they would simply spray trees they suspect are infested and wait to see if the pest falls from it.
Amazing Images: Science & Nature Photos from Our Readers
Credit: Michael Smith
Most Popular
- Recommended
- Commented
From the Blogs

- LiveScience Blogs
-
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- Modern Gossip Magazine Culture Began With Celebrity Obituaries
- 12,000 Year Old Shaman Burial Site Discovered In Northern Israel - And It Was A Woman
- Learning About Lightning - Interferometer Records Discharge In Detail To The Microsecond
- India To The Moon: Chandrayaan-1 Settles Into Lunar Transfer Trajectory
- Those Dang Transcription Factors
- Pretty Women Make Men Shortsighted
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David
Private Moon Lander Group Teams with NASA
Keep an eye out for Odyssey Moon Ventures — one of the contenders in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition — to announce they... ... - 10.25.2008 | Leonard David
Armadillo Scraps Further Lunar Lander Challenge Attempts
Update 7: The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is over for the day. John Carmack and his Armadillo Aerospace team have declared no more... ...
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David






