Category: science

The potential of honey: a highly topical application

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

The one animal that springs to most people’s mind for eating honey is bears. Especially a particularly round individual who gets his hand stuck in the honey pot numerous times. However, many animals around the world, including raccoons, skunks, opossums and honey badgers, feast on honey. They brave the fury of the hive to not only get at the sweet sticky stuff, but for the protein obtained from eating the bees and larvae themselves. We humans are fussier and prefer to stick to just the honey, though some people will eat honey on the comb. (more…)

Mycoheterotrophs: the sly swindlers of the plant world

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Helen Roberts

New plant species are discovered all the time. But it is not typical for plants to be discovered in areas that have been meticulously surveyed. Last year, however, a thoroughly unusual species was found on an island in the Kagoshima prefecture, Japan [1]. (more…)

In the guts of bees

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Nicola Temple

We hear a great deal about the beneficial bacteria that live in our digestive system and commonly referred to as the microbiome, which help us turn indigestible materials into nutrients that we can absorb. There are countless probiotic products on the market that are meant to introduce more of these beneficial bacteria into our system, enriching our microbiome. However, humans and indeed mammals are not alone in having helpful microflora in the gut. (more…)

What lies below: how soil bacteria fight off sticky roots

Posted on by andy.winfield

By Nicola Temple

The first horror film I ever watched was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film was already dated by about 30 years when I saw it and so aspects seemed silly rather than scary. Yet, those alien plants still managed to evoke nightmares in my pre-teen imagination. Antagonistic plants have cropped up in numerous films over the years – from the musical menace in Little Shop of Horrors to the Devil’s Snare that entangles Harry Potter and his friends. Yet, the cinematic nightmare of being entwined and strangled by the (not so) local flora is based in some truth…if you’re a microbe. (more…)