This year's Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded "for achievements that first make people LAUGH then make them THINK," were announced last night. The chemistry prize went to a Japanese team that developed the world's first "wasabi alarm," while the peace prize went to the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania "for demonstrating that the…
Another blow to the idea that homosexuality is unnatural- researchers have found a surprising frequency of homosexual behavior among insects.
Meet the female insect who is able to use her own sperm to procreate — which is quickly causing a serious shortage of males:
British writer Rowan Somerville has won the Literary Review's Bad Sex Writing prize for likening coitus to "a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect." Maybe the lady in question was wearing a sexy bug costume?
Ten years ago, scientists started the Lost Ladybug Project to find out why the beneficial insects' populations are declining. So far they've collected more than 7,000 photos from the public and they're hoping to receive 100 more this summer.
'Tis the season. Malaria apparently sucks, and even itchy bites are a summer scourge. So, what actually keeps them away?
The NY Times tackles the question and finds: not really. While there's some evidence that mosquitoes are attracted to estrogen, there's more evidence that they just go for surface area, giving men the, um, edge. They also dig sweat. [NYT]
• Scientists believe they may have discovered why mosquitoes leave some of us alone while they devour others. No, their blood does not "taste better." Mosquitoes respond to certain chemical odors, some of which are tied to stress. •
Isabella Rossellini has written and directed a series of short films called Green Porno about the sex life of insects. In the films, she dresses up as different bugs (always the male version, for some reason), and acts out the way they "make love." Green Porno is intended to be viewed on computers, cell phones, and…
