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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]With the warming weather it’s the season for spring cleaning. But before you reach for the broom and mop, take a moment to look at who else is sharing your home with you. The number of uninvited guests you find in your dustpan may surprise you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study published in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://peerj.com/articles/1582/\">PeerJ\u003c/a> took up the challenge of cataloging the large numbers of tiny animals that live in human dwellings. The researchers found that the average home contains roughly 100 different species of arthropods, including familiar types like flies, spiders and ants, but also some kinds that are less well known like gall wasps and book lice. And no matter how much human residents may clean, there will always be a considerable number of mini-roommates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607106\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607106\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A Cheyletid mite searches for prey in the weave of a carpet\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Cheyletid mite searches for prey in the weave of a carpet \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/ KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Even as entomologists we were really surprised. We live in our houses all the time, so we thought we’d be more familiar with the kind of things we’d come across. There was a surprising level of biodiversity,” said Michelle Trautwein, assistant curator of entomology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607110\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607110\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Flies (Diptera) made up about 25% of the types of arthropods found in the homes sampled\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flies (Diptera) made up about 25% of the types of arthropods found in the homes sampled \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Trautwein lead the research team that donned headlamps and knee pads and unsheathed forceps before scouring residences in North Carolina for arthropods — creatures that have exoskeletons, multiple appendages and segmented bodies. The researchers collected dust from corners, flies from windowsills and spiders from under sinks. They also sampled the dust in people’s carpets and rugs using a handheld vacuum cleaner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607111\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607111\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Trautwein searches a kitchen windowsill, a common location to find arthropods that filtered in from the surrounding environment.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Trautwein searches a kitchen windowsill, a common location to find arthropods that filtered in from the surrounding environment. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The samples were painstaking analyzed by a team of entomologists using both genetic analysis and traditional visual microscope identification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study found that homes with kids and pets had a greater number of different types of these diminutive lodgers. They also found that there are more species on lower floors of a building than higher floors. Common rooms, carpeted rooms and rooms with more windows and doors to the outside also had a greater diversity of guests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the animals found were not pests but simply creatures that filtered in from outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vast majority of things we found don’t bite or sting or feed on our food. Most of them have no effect on our daily lives,” said Trautwein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607114\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607114\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607114\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A book louse crawls among grains of uncooked rice. Book lice are nearly ubiquitous in human homes where they largely go unnoticed.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A book louse crawls among grains of uncooked rice. Book lice are nearly ubiquitous in human homes where they largely go unnoticed. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was the advent of agriculture that resulted in humans creating permanent housing which presented a new ecosystem for other animals as well. Many of those roommates live in house dust, a collection of dirt, lint, pollen, hair and pet fur. A large amount of house dust is actually comprised of dead skin that constantly rains down as it’s shed by humans and pets. That skin is a constant source of food for one of the most common tiny bugs found in our homes — house dust mites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607194\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607194\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Smaller than a grain of sand, this house dust mite (Pyroglyphidae) is barely visible without the use of magnification.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smaller than a grain of sand, this house dust mite (Pyroglyphidae) is barely visible without the use of magnification. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dust mites are arachnids, relatives of spiders. They’re tiny. Five can fit in 1 millimeter on a ruler. They are barely visible by the naked eye. They look like little translucent jelly beans with legs that they use to crawl around among the dust. They don’t hunt, instead munching on the dead skin flakes that we unknowingly feed them every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dead skin is mainly composed of keratin, a tough structural protein that also gives shape to nails and hair. It’s not a particularly nutritious food, but it is abundant. Dust mites use powerful enzymes to break it down and digest it. After that dust mites produce waste pellets at a prodigious rate. In addition to feces, dust mites shed their exoskeletons as they grow. These two appealing materials contribute to the overall bulk of dust in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607195\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607195\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Humans constantly shed skin flakes like this which feeds a hidden indoor ecosystem. \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Humans constantly shed skin flakes like this which feeds a hidden indoor ecosystem. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some of this has effects on people. When dust gets kicked up, people breath in the droppings and the enzymes within them can cause an allergic reaction in the lungs. Those enzymes that are left over in the dust mite’s droppings have been found to be a major causes of allergic reactions and are associated with \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8542107\">childhood asthma\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But dust mites didn’t always live in our homes. Researchers at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21279-genetic-study-of-house-dust-mites-demonstrates-reversible-evolution\">University of Michigan\u003c/a> found evidence that the ancestors one type of dust mite that can be found in human homes once made its living as a parasite that lived on birds. At some point, the mite spread to also live in bird’s nests and found the conditions there quite acceptable. Nests are kept warm and humid by birds and dander and feathers from molting nestlings provide nourishment. They’re an unusual animal because dust mites were able to go from free roaming to parasitic before returning to the free living lifestyle they have today, an example of reversible evolution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For those who are less welcoming of these unexpected guests, you can ditch the wall-to-wall carpets, vacuum and mop often and reduce humidity, because dust mites are not usually found in dry climates. Regardless, it’s practically impossible to rid a home of all of arthropod visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very much a part of the natural world and even our homes that may seem more sterile are not exempt from that, ” said Trautwein. “When we think about wild areas, it’s exciting to think that even our homes are still these unexplored areas waiting for more discoveries to be made.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "You may think that you've got the house to yourself, but chances are you have about 100 different types of animals living with you.",
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"title": "Meet the Dust Mites, Tiny Roommates That Feast on Your Skin | KQED",
"description": "You may think that you've got the house to yourself, but chances are you have about 100 different types of animals living with you.",
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"headline": "Meet the Dust Mites, Tiny Roommates That Feast on Your Skin",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>With the warming weather it’s the season for spring cleaning. But before you reach for the broom and mop, take a moment to look at who else is sharing your home with you. The number of uninvited guests you find in your dustpan may surprise you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study published in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://peerj.com/articles/1582/\">PeerJ\u003c/a> took up the challenge of cataloging the large numbers of tiny animals that live in human dwellings. The researchers found that the average home contains roughly 100 different species of arthropods, including familiar types like flies, spiders and ants, but also some kinds that are less well known like gall wasps and book lice. And no matter how much human residents may clean, there will always be a considerable number of mini-roommates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607106\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607106\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A Cheyletid mite searches for prey in the weave of a carpet\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Predatory-Mite-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Cheyletid mite searches for prey in the weave of a carpet \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/ KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Even as entomologists we were really surprised. We live in our houses all the time, so we thought we’d be more familiar with the kind of things we’d come across. There was a surprising level of biodiversity,” said Michelle Trautwein, assistant curator of entomology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607110\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607110\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Flies (Diptera) made up about 25% of the types of arthropods found in the homes sampled\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dead-fly-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flies (Diptera) made up about 25% of the types of arthropods found in the homes sampled \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Trautwein lead the research team that donned headlamps and knee pads and unsheathed forceps before scouring residences in North Carolina for arthropods — creatures that have exoskeletons, multiple appendages and segmented bodies. The researchers collected dust from corners, flies from windowsills and spiders from under sinks. They also sampled the dust in people’s carpets and rugs using a handheld vacuum cleaner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607111\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607111\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Trautwein searches a kitchen windowsill, a common location to find arthropods that filtered in from the surrounding environment.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-Michelle-Trautwein-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Trautwein searches a kitchen windowsill, a common location to find arthropods that filtered in from the surrounding environment. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The samples were painstaking analyzed by a team of entomologists using both genetic analysis and traditional visual microscope identification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study found that homes with kids and pets had a greater number of different types of these diminutive lodgers. They also found that there are more species on lower floors of a building than higher floors. Common rooms, carpeted rooms and rooms with more windows and doors to the outside also had a greater diversity of guests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the animals found were not pests but simply creatures that filtered in from outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vast majority of things we found don’t bite or sting or feed on our food. Most of them have no effect on our daily lives,” said Trautwein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607114\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607114\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607114\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A book louse crawls among grains of uncooked rice. Book lice are nearly ubiquitous in human homes where they largely go unnoticed.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-book-louse-on-rice-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A book louse crawls among grains of uncooked rice. Book lice are nearly ubiquitous in human homes where they largely go unnoticed. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was the advent of agriculture that resulted in humans creating permanent housing which presented a new ecosystem for other animals as well. Many of those roommates live in house dust, a collection of dirt, lint, pollen, hair and pet fur. A large amount of house dust is actually comprised of dead skin that constantly rains down as it’s shed by humans and pets. That skin is a constant source of food for one of the most common tiny bugs found in our homes — house dust mites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607194\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607194\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Smaller than a grain of sand, this house dust mite (Pyroglyphidae) is barely visible without the use of magnification.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-dust-mite-in-sand-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smaller than a grain of sand, this house dust mite (Pyroglyphidae) is barely visible without the use of magnification. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dust mites are arachnids, relatives of spiders. They’re tiny. Five can fit in 1 millimeter on a ruler. They are barely visible by the naked eye. They look like little translucent jelly beans with legs that they use to crawl around among the dust. They don’t hunt, instead munching on the dead skin flakes that we unknowingly feed them every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dead skin is mainly composed of keratin, a tough structural protein that also gives shape to nails and hair. It’s not a particularly nutritious food, but it is abundant. Dust mites use powerful enzymes to break it down and digest it. After that dust mites produce waste pellets at a prodigious rate. In addition to feces, dust mites shed their exoskeletons as they grow. These two appealing materials contribute to the overall bulk of dust in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_607195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-607195\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-607195\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Humans constantly shed skin flakes like this which feeds a hidden indoor ecosystem. \" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/DL306-skin-flake-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Humans constantly shed skin flakes like this which feeds a hidden indoor ecosystem. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some of this has effects on people. When dust gets kicked up, people breath in the droppings and the enzymes within them can cause an allergic reaction in the lungs. Those enzymes that are left over in the dust mite’s droppings have been found to be a major causes of allergic reactions and are associated with \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8542107\">childhood asthma\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But dust mites didn’t always live in our homes. Researchers at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21279-genetic-study-of-house-dust-mites-demonstrates-reversible-evolution\">University of Michigan\u003c/a> found evidence that the ancestors one type of dust mite that can be found in human homes once made its living as a parasite that lived on birds. At some point, the mite spread to also live in bird’s nests and found the conditions there quite acceptable. Nests are kept warm and humid by birds and dander and feathers from molting nestlings provide nourishment. They’re an unusual animal because dust mites were able to go from free roaming to parasitic before returning to the free living lifestyle they have today, an example of reversible evolution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For those who are less welcoming of these unexpected guests, you can ditch the wall-to-wall carpets, vacuum and mop often and reduce humidity, because dust mites are not usually found in dry climates. Regardless, it’s practically impossible to rid a home of all of arthropod visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very much a part of the natural world and even our homes that may seem more sterile are not exempt from that, ” said Trautwein. “When we think about wild areas, it’s exciting to think that even our homes are still these unexplored areas waiting for more discoveries to be made.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]The bombardier beetle, named for soldiers who once operated artillery cannons, has a surprising secret weapon to use on potential predators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When attacked, the beetle mixes a cocktail of compounds inside its body that produces a rapid chemical reaction. The reaction heats the mix to the boiling point, then propels it through a narrow abdominal opening with explosive force. By turning the end of its abdomen on an assailant, the beetle can even aim the spray.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536763\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 721px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bigpop_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536763\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536763\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bigpop_720.gif\" alt=\"The bombardier beetle has an explosive defense mechanism.\" width=\"721\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bombardier beetle has an explosive defense mechanism. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The formidable liquid, composed of three main ingredients, both burns and stings the attacker. It can kill a small adversary, such as an ant, and send larger foes, like spiders, frogs, and birds, fleeing in confusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If the beetle’s explosion chamber were the size of the inside of a car,” said Eric Arndt, a doctoral student who has studied bombardiers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “the blast would release about the same energy as about two pounds of TNT.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536765\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_3rdpop_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536765\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536765\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_3rdpop_720.gif\" alt=\"The bombardier beetle packs quite a punch.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bombardier beetle packs quite a punch. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are more than 500 species of bombardier beetles. They live on every continent except Antarctica. In Northern California, they are commonly found near streams, rivers and lakes. \u003c/span>Their exceptional chemical defense has given the bombardier beetle not only its name but a central role in decades of dispute between creationists and scientists about the origins of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the scientific consensus on evolution is unanimous, creationists have made the bombardier a poster-child of what they call “irreducible complexity,” the notion that some structures in nature seem to defy explanation by Darwinian theory.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536766\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bettleoverhead_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536766\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536766\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bettleoverhead_720.gif\" alt='For creationists, the bombardier beetle is a poster child of so-called \"intelligent design.\"' width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For creationists, the bombardier beetle is a poster child of so-called “intelligent design.” \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the liquid components of the beetle’s defense are so dangerous in combination, they ask, wouldn’t earlier beetles have blown themselves up, and the species gone extinct long ago? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead, the argument goes, the extreme delicacy of the mechanism suggests the work of an intelligent creator. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fascination with the bombardier beetle goes back to Charles Darwin himself, the author of evolutionary theory and an avid beetle collector. Darwin once wrote to a friend about how he tried to hold a bombardier between his teeth while reaching for another specimen in the field. To his chagrin, the beetle promptly fired its “acid” in his mouth.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536771\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_archival_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536771\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536771\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_archival_720.gif\" alt=\"Generations of scientists have been fascinated by the beetle's unique biochemistry.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Generations of scientists have been fascinated by the beetle’s unique biochemistry. \u003ccite>(MIT Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scientists have pointed out that the beetle’s evolution is entirely plausible if you look at the chemical level. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The two main ingredients of its toxic spray — hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide — do not explode when combined on their own. The reaction needs a third ingredient, an enzyme, to go off.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Enzymes, which are derived from our DNA, have long been known to evolve, becoming increasingly specialized over time. In theory, scientists assert, an early relative of today’s bombardier beetle might have possessed a less potent version of the enzyme, all part of the gradual emergence of the system.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536768\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_animation_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536768\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536768\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_animation_720.gif\" alt=\"In the bombardier's defensive chemistry, the enzyme (red) is the critical spark.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the bombardier’s defensive chemistry, the enzyme (red) is the critical spark. \u003ccite>(Teodros Hailye/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This fall, the National Science Foundation awarded $1.4 million in funding to a team of researchers from the \u003ca href=\"https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/people/kipling-kip-will\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of California-Berkeley\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.tanyarenner.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">San Diego State University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.moorearthropods.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Arizona in Tucson\u003c/a>, and the \u003ca href=\"http://web.stevens.edu/research/faculty_profile.php?faculty_id=390\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stevens Institute of Technology\u003c/a>, who will dig even deeper into the beetle’s biochemistry. Their three-year study will examine the beetles’ family tree at the molecular level to determine how the production of its chemical brew might have arisen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The use of these chemicals isn’t that unusual in the beetle family tree,” said Kipling Will, the director of UC Berkeley’s Essig Museum of Entomology, and one of the grant researchers. “There are at least four major sub-families of beetles that produce the same kinds of compounds. The bombardier isn’t some weird, unique thing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536770\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_waxmounted_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536770\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536770\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_waxmounted_720.gif\" alt=\"Researchers will soon test the theory that the bombardier's defense is related to how it makes its shell, or carapace.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Researchers will soon test the theory that the bombardier’s defense is related to how it makes its shell, or carapace. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One theory the study will test is how the production of the bombardier’s defensive arsenal relates to the way it makes its shell, or carapace. The carapaces of all beetle species are already known to contain hydroquinones. The beetle may have pivoted shell production into a defensive mechanism.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In evolutionary biology, the term “exaptation” describes how animals sometimes repurpose raw materials.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether or not the carapace theory proves correct, the study will help scientists better understand its evolutionary origins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We want to see where the evolution is happening, the interplay between the genes and the chemicals,” said Will. “This is all part of the story of how they produce and deploy their defense.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536764\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_spider_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536764\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536764\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_spider_720.gif\" alt=\"The beetle's boiling hot, caustic spray can repel a much larger predator.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The beetle’s boiling hot, caustic spray can repel a much larger predator. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of the 500 known species in the bombardier beetle family worldwide, nine live in California. They are easy to spot under leaves in moist conditions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But take the hint from Darwin: Don’t put one in your mouth. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The bombardier beetle, named for soldiers who once operated artillery cannons, has a surprising secret weapon to use on potential predators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When attacked, the beetle mixes a cocktail of compounds inside its body that produces a rapid chemical reaction. The reaction heats the mix to the boiling point, then propels it through a narrow abdominal opening with explosive force. By turning the end of its abdomen on an assailant, the beetle can even aim the spray.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536763\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 721px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bigpop_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536763\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536763\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bigpop_720.gif\" alt=\"The bombardier beetle has an explosive defense mechanism.\" width=\"721\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bombardier beetle has an explosive defense mechanism. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The formidable liquid, composed of three main ingredients, both burns and stings the attacker. It can kill a small adversary, such as an ant, and send larger foes, like spiders, frogs, and birds, fleeing in confusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If the beetle’s explosion chamber were the size of the inside of a car,” said Eric Arndt, a doctoral student who has studied bombardiers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “the blast would release about the same energy as about two pounds of TNT.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536765\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_3rdpop_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536765\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536765\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_3rdpop_720.gif\" alt=\"The bombardier beetle packs quite a punch.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The bombardier beetle packs quite a punch. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are more than 500 species of bombardier beetles. They live on every continent except Antarctica. In Northern California, they are commonly found near streams, rivers and lakes. \u003c/span>Their exceptional chemical defense has given the bombardier beetle not only its name but a central role in decades of dispute between creationists and scientists about the origins of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the scientific consensus on evolution is unanimous, creationists have made the bombardier a poster-child of what they call “irreducible complexity,” the notion that some structures in nature seem to defy explanation by Darwinian theory.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536766\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bettleoverhead_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536766\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536766\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_bettleoverhead_720.gif\" alt='For creationists, the bombardier beetle is a poster child of so-called \"intelligent design.\"' width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For creationists, the bombardier beetle is a poster child of so-called “intelligent design.” \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the liquid components of the beetle’s defense are so dangerous in combination, they ask, wouldn’t earlier beetles have blown themselves up, and the species gone extinct long ago? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead, the argument goes, the extreme delicacy of the mechanism suggests the work of an intelligent creator. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fascination with the bombardier beetle goes back to Charles Darwin himself, the author of evolutionary theory and an avid beetle collector. Darwin once wrote to a friend about how he tried to hold a bombardier between his teeth while reaching for another specimen in the field. To his chagrin, the beetle promptly fired its “acid” in his mouth.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536771\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_archival_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536771\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536771\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_archival_720.gif\" alt=\"Generations of scientists have been fascinated by the beetle's unique biochemistry.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Generations of scientists have been fascinated by the beetle’s unique biochemistry. \u003ccite>(MIT Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scientists have pointed out that the beetle’s evolution is entirely plausible if you look at the chemical level. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The two main ingredients of its toxic spray — hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide — do not explode when combined on their own. The reaction needs a third ingredient, an enzyme, to go off.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Enzymes, which are derived from our DNA, have long been known to evolve, becoming increasingly specialized over time. In theory, scientists assert, an early relative of today’s bombardier beetle might have possessed a less potent version of the enzyme, all part of the gradual emergence of the system.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536768\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_animation_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536768\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536768\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_animation_720.gif\" alt=\"In the bombardier's defensive chemistry, the enzyme (red) is the critical spark.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the bombardier’s defensive chemistry, the enzyme (red) is the critical spark. \u003ccite>(Teodros Hailye/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This fall, the National Science Foundation awarded $1.4 million in funding to a team of researchers from the \u003ca href=\"https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/people/kipling-kip-will\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of California-Berkeley\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.tanyarenner.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">San Diego State University\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.moorearthropods.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Arizona in Tucson\u003c/a>, and the \u003ca href=\"http://web.stevens.edu/research/faculty_profile.php?faculty_id=390\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stevens Institute of Technology\u003c/a>, who will dig even deeper into the beetle’s biochemistry. Their three-year study will examine the beetles’ family tree at the molecular level to determine how the production of its chemical brew might have arisen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The use of these chemicals isn’t that unusual in the beetle family tree,” said Kipling Will, the director of UC Berkeley’s Essig Museum of Entomology, and one of the grant researchers. “There are at least four major sub-families of beetles that produce the same kinds of compounds. The bombardier isn’t some weird, unique thing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536770\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_waxmounted_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536770\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536770\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_waxmounted_720.gif\" alt=\"Researchers will soon test the theory that the bombardier's defense is related to how it makes its shell, or carapace.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Researchers will soon test the theory that the bombardier’s defense is related to how it makes its shell, or carapace. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One theory the study will test is how the production of the bombardier’s defensive arsenal relates to the way it makes its shell, or carapace. The carapaces of all beetle species are already known to contain hydroquinones. The beetle may have pivoted shell production into a defensive mechanism.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In evolutionary biology, the term “exaptation” describes how animals sometimes repurpose raw materials.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether or not the carapace theory proves correct, the study will help scientists better understand its evolutionary origins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We want to see where the evolution is happening, the interplay between the genes and the chemicals,” said Will. “This is all part of the story of how they produce and deploy their defense.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_536764\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_spider_720.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-536764\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-536764\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/DL305_bombardier_spider_720.gif\" alt=\"The beetle's boiling hot, caustic spray can repel a much larger predator.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The beetle’s boiling hot, caustic spray can repel a much larger predator. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of the 500 known species in the bombardier beetle family worldwide, nine live in California. They are easy to spot under leaves in moist conditions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But take the hint from Darwin: Don’t put one in your mouth. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Stinging Scorpion vs. Pain-Defying Mouse",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]There’s a chemical arms race underway in the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. But rather than pitting two armies, it’s a showdown between a highly venomous scorpion and a particularly ferocious mouse. Research into how the scorpion’s sting became so powerful, and how the mouse tolerates it, may one day change the way that doctors treat pain in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/2-AZ-bark-scorpion-on-log-face-down_JCassidy-e1454976494604.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518351\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518351\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/2-AZ-bark-scorpion-on-log-face-down_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"The Arizona bark scorpion’s preference for hanging to the underside of objects makes dangerous encounters with humans more likely.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Arizona bark scorpion’s preference for hanging to the underside of objects makes dangerous encounters with humans more likely. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Commonly found in the Sonoran Desert, the Arizona bark scorpion (\u003cem>Centruroides sculpturatus\u003c/em>) is the most dangerous scorpion in the continental United States. According to Keith Boesen, Director of the Arizona Poison & Drug Information Center, about 15,000 Americans report being stung by scorpions every year in the U.S. The worst stings, about 200 annually, are attributed to this one species. Its sting can cause sharp pain along with tingling, swelling, numbness, dizziness, shortness of breath, muscular convulsions, involuntary eye movements, coughing and vomiting. Children under two years old are especially vulnerable. Since 2000, three human deaths have been attributed to the Arizona bark scorpion in the United States, all within Arizona.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518355\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/milking-az-bark-scorpion_JCassidy-e1454976624716.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518355\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518355\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/milking-az-bark-scorpion_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of wax paper is used to coax an Arizona bark scorpion into stinging\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A piece of wax paper is used to coax an Arizona bark scorpion into stinging \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/academy-welcomes-newest-curator-appoints-new-schlinger-chair-of-arachnology\">Lauren Esposito\u003c/a>, assistant curator and chair of arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, is studying the genes responsible for the scorpion’s powerful sting. Scorpions are predators, using their pincers to grasp their prey—typically insects and other invertebrates—while the stinger incapacitates them. The sting does double duty as a painful deterrent to other predators that would like to eat the scorpion. To deal with a variety of targets, the scorpion produces a cocktail of toxins made to harm a wide range of animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518357\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/az-bark-scorpion-stinger-in-forceps_JCassidy-e1454976873394.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518357\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518357\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/az-bark-scorpion-stinger-in-forceps_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Cells in the Arizona bark scorpion’s stinger activate after stinging to produce fresh venom.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cells in the Arizona bark scorpion’s stinger activate after stinging to produce fresh venom. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Esposito’s first step to studying how the the scorpion produces such potent venom is to “milk” the scorpions by carefully coaxing them to sting a piece of wax paper in the lab. Every time the scorpion stings a target, genes in the stinger activate to induce the production of more venom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know a single scorpion can carry the genes for more than 200 unique venoms in its DNA,” said Esposito. “Studying how this venom diversity evolved helps us understand how one creature can evolve the ability to strike hundreds of specific targets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is one unlikely creature that appears unimpressed. While it may not look the part, the Southern grasshopper mouse (\u003cem>Onychomys torridus\u003c/em>) is an extremely capable hunter. It fearlessly stalks and devours any beetles or grasshoppers that have the misfortune to cross its path. But this mouse has a particular taste for scorpions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Michigan State University, Ashlee Rowe studies this evolutionary \u003ca href=\"http://venomevolution.zoology.msu.edu/\">predator-prey relationship\u003c/a>, particularly the way the mice can come away unharmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are resistant to the toxins,” said Rowe, an assistant professor of neuroscience and biology. “That’s how they’ve evolved to make their living in the desert.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/southern-grasshopper-mouse-stalks-scorpion_LayneCameronMSU-e1454976985664.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518441\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518441\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/southern-grasshopper-mouse-stalks-scorpion_LayneCameronMSU-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A Southern grasshopper stalks its prey.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Southern grasshopper stalks its prey. \u003ccite>(Layne Cameron/Michigan State University)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rowe’s lab studies the mouse’s hunting technique and the way the scorpion venom acts within the mouse. Rowe and her team filmed grasshopper mice hunting the scorpions in a controlled setting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you see them attack, they are incredibly aggressive, especially if they’re hungry,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scorpion venom contains neurotoxins that target sodium and potassium ion channels, proteins embedded within the surface of the nerve and muscle cells that play an important role in regulating the sensation of pain. Activating these channels sends signals down the nerves to the brain. That’s what causes the excruciating pain that human victims have described as the feeling like getting jabbed with a hot needle. Others compare the pain to an electric shock. But the grasshopper mouse has an entirely different reaction when stung.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within the mouse, a special protein in one of the sodium ion channels binds to the scorpion’s neurotoxin. Once bound, the neurotoxin is unable to activate the sodium ion channel and send the pain signal. Instead it has the entirely opposite effect. It shuts down the channel, keeping it from sending any signals, which has a numbing effect for the mouse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you block those electrical signals you block pain,” Rowe said. “The mouse actually feels less pain after it’s stung. As far as we know this is unique to grasshopper mice”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518442\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518442\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-518442 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"he Southern grasshopper mouse, seen here with eyes closed for protection, is able to withstand repeated scorpion stings while subduing its prey\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Southern grasshopper mouse, seen here with eyes closed for protection, is able to withstand repeated scorpion stings while subduing its prey. \u003ccite>(Layne Cameron/Michigan State University)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that is what makes the grasshopper mouse such an interesting research subject, she said. The hope is that unlocking the grasshopper mouse’s mechanisms of tolerating the scorpion’s venom might one day help scientists learn to make more precise forms of painkillers for humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Medicines could be developed to interact with a single sodium channel in humans,” said Rowe. “Analgesics could be developed to alleviate pain without side effects.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There’s a chemical arms race underway in the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. But rather than pitting two armies, it’s a showdown between a highly venomous scorpion and a particularly ferocious mouse. Research into how the scorpion’s sting became so powerful, and how the mouse tolerates it, may one day change the way that doctors treat pain in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/2-AZ-bark-scorpion-on-log-face-down_JCassidy-e1454976494604.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518351\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518351\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/2-AZ-bark-scorpion-on-log-face-down_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"The Arizona bark scorpion’s preference for hanging to the underside of objects makes dangerous encounters with humans more likely.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Arizona bark scorpion’s preference for hanging to the underside of objects makes dangerous encounters with humans more likely. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Commonly found in the Sonoran Desert, the Arizona bark scorpion (\u003cem>Centruroides sculpturatus\u003c/em>) is the most dangerous scorpion in the continental United States. According to Keith Boesen, Director of the Arizona Poison & Drug Information Center, about 15,000 Americans report being stung by scorpions every year in the U.S. The worst stings, about 200 annually, are attributed to this one species. Its sting can cause sharp pain along with tingling, swelling, numbness, dizziness, shortness of breath, muscular convulsions, involuntary eye movements, coughing and vomiting. Children under two years old are especially vulnerable. Since 2000, three human deaths have been attributed to the Arizona bark scorpion in the United States, all within Arizona.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518355\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/milking-az-bark-scorpion_JCassidy-e1454976624716.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518355\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518355\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/milking-az-bark-scorpion_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A piece of wax paper is used to coax an Arizona bark scorpion into stinging\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A piece of wax paper is used to coax an Arizona bark scorpion into stinging \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/academy-welcomes-newest-curator-appoints-new-schlinger-chair-of-arachnology\">Lauren Esposito\u003c/a>, assistant curator and chair of arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, is studying the genes responsible for the scorpion’s powerful sting. Scorpions are predators, using their pincers to grasp their prey—typically insects and other invertebrates—while the stinger incapacitates them. The sting does double duty as a painful deterrent to other predators that would like to eat the scorpion. To deal with a variety of targets, the scorpion produces a cocktail of toxins made to harm a wide range of animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518357\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/az-bark-scorpion-stinger-in-forceps_JCassidy-e1454976873394.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518357\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518357\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/az-bark-scorpion-stinger-in-forceps_JCassidy-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"Cells in the Arizona bark scorpion’s stinger activate after stinging to produce fresh venom.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cells in the Arizona bark scorpion’s stinger activate after stinging to produce fresh venom. \u003ccite>(Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Esposito’s first step to studying how the the scorpion produces such potent venom is to “milk” the scorpions by carefully coaxing them to sting a piece of wax paper in the lab. Every time the scorpion stings a target, genes in the stinger activate to induce the production of more venom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know a single scorpion can carry the genes for more than 200 unique venoms in its DNA,” said Esposito. “Studying how this venom diversity evolved helps us understand how one creature can evolve the ability to strike hundreds of specific targets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is one unlikely creature that appears unimpressed. While it may not look the part, the Southern grasshopper mouse (\u003cem>Onychomys torridus\u003c/em>) is an extremely capable hunter. It fearlessly stalks and devours any beetles or grasshoppers that have the misfortune to cross its path. But this mouse has a particular taste for scorpions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Michigan State University, Ashlee Rowe studies this evolutionary \u003ca href=\"http://venomevolution.zoology.msu.edu/\">predator-prey relationship\u003c/a>, particularly the way the mice can come away unharmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are resistant to the toxins,” said Rowe, an assistant professor of neuroscience and biology. “That’s how they’ve evolved to make their living in the desert.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/southern-grasshopper-mouse-stalks-scorpion_LayneCameronMSU-e1454976985664.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518441\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-518441\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/southern-grasshopper-mouse-stalks-scorpion_LayneCameronMSU-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"A Southern grasshopper stalks its prey.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Southern grasshopper stalks its prey. \u003ccite>(Layne Cameron/Michigan State University)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rowe’s lab studies the mouse’s hunting technique and the way the scorpion venom acts within the mouse. Rowe and her team filmed grasshopper mice hunting the scorpions in a controlled setting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you see them attack, they are incredibly aggressive, especially if they’re hungry,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scorpion venom contains neurotoxins that target sodium and potassium ion channels, proteins embedded within the surface of the nerve and muscle cells that play an important role in regulating the sensation of pain. Activating these channels sends signals down the nerves to the brain. That’s what causes the excruciating pain that human victims have described as the feeling like getting jabbed with a hot needle. Others compare the pain to an electric shock. But the grasshopper mouse has an entirely different reaction when stung.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within the mouse, a special protein in one of the sodium ion channels binds to the scorpion’s neurotoxin. Once bound, the neurotoxin is unable to activate the sodium ion channel and send the pain signal. Instead it has the entirely opposite effect. It shuts down the channel, keeping it from sending any signals, which has a numbing effect for the mouse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you block those electrical signals you block pain,” Rowe said. “The mouse actually feels less pain after it’s stung. As far as we know this is unique to grasshopper mice”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_518442\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518442\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-518442 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1440x810.jpg\" alt=\"he Southern grasshopper mouse, seen here with eyes closed for protection, is able to withstand repeated scorpion stings while subduing its prey\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/mouse-fights-scorpion-2-Layne-CameronMSU-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Southern grasshopper mouse, seen here with eyes closed for protection, is able to withstand repeated scorpion stings while subduing its prey. \u003ccite>(Layne Cameron/Michigan State University)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that is what makes the grasshopper mouse such an interesting research subject, she said. The hope is that unlocking the grasshopper mouse’s mechanisms of tolerating the scorpion’s venom might one day help scientists learn to make more precise forms of painkillers for humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Medicines could be developed to interact with a single sodium channel in humans,” said Rowe. “Analgesics could be developed to alleviate pain without side effects.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Report Outlines Decline of Pollinators and Threat to World Food Supply",
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"content": "\u003cp>A major global assessment of pollinators is raising concerns about the future of the planet’s food supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A U.N.-sponsored report drawing on about 3,000 scientific papers concludes that about 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species (such as bees and butterflies) are facing extinction. Vertebrate pollinators (such as bats and birds) are somewhat better off by comparison — 16 percent are threatened with extinction, “with a trend towards more extinctions,” the researchers say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 75 percent of the world’s food crops, the report notes, depend at least partly on pollination.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security.’\u003ccite> Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca,\u003cbr>\nUniversity of São Paulo \u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security,” assessment co-Chair Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca says \u003ca href=\"http://www.ipbes.net/article/pollinators-vital-our-food-supply-under-threat\">in a statement\u003c/a>. “Their health is directly linked to our own well-being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crops that need help from pollinators include coffee, apples, cacao, cotton, mangoes and almonds, to name just a few.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re also talking big business: “The annual value of global crops directly affected by pollinators” ranges from $235 billion to $577 billion, according to the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR’s Dan Charles says the report “is largely based on studies in North America and Europe; there’s been less research on pollinators in Africa and Asia.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was released by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which operates under U.N. auspices. The assessment cites about 3,000 scientific papers and, researchers say, “includes information about practices based on indigenous and local knowledge from more than 60 locations around the world.” The report was presented by IPBES on Friday in Kuala Lumpur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_550641\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 431px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-550641\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"Worker bees surround a queen, who is marked with a yellow spot on her back, Bees are essential in nature in pollinating a wide variety of plants and trees. \" width=\"431\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi.jpg 502w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi-400x287.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Worker bees surround a queen, who is marked with a yellow spot on her back. Bees are essential for pollinating a wide variety of plants and trees. \u003ccite>(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pollinators are under threat for a number of reasons.\u003cbr>\nThe decline of wild butterflies, bees and other pollinators “is primarily due to changes in land use, intensive agricultural practices and pesticide use, alien invasion species, diseases and pest, and climate change,” says IPBES Vice-Chair Robert Watson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also harming pollinators: “the decline of practices based on indigenous and local knowledge,” the assessment states. “These practices include traditional farming systems; maintenance of diverse landscapes and gardens; kinship relationships that protect specific pollinators; and cultures and languages that are connected to pollinators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the researchers say there’s plenty governments and communities can do to support these animals. “The good news is that a number of steps can be taken to reduce the risks to pollinators, including practices based on indigenous and local knowledge,” says IPBES founding Chair Zakri Abdul Hamid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement cites such examples as:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>“The promotion of sustainable agriculture” that emphasizes diverse habitats.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>“Supporting traditional practices that manage habitat patchiness, crop rotation, and coproduction between science and indigenous local knowledge.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Reducing their exposure to pesticides, including “seeking alternative forms of pest control, and adopting a range of specific applications, including technologies to reduce pesticide drift.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>“Improving managed bee husbandry for pathogen control, coupled with better regulation of trade and use of commercial pollinators.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Report%3A+More+Pollinator+Species+In+Jeopardy%2C+Threatening+World+Food+Supply&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A major global assessment of pollinators is raising concerns about the future of the planet’s food supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A U.N.-sponsored report drawing on about 3,000 scientific papers concludes that about 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species (such as bees and butterflies) are facing extinction. Vertebrate pollinators (such as bats and birds) are somewhat better off by comparison — 16 percent are threatened with extinction, “with a trend towards more extinctions,” the researchers say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 75 percent of the world’s food crops, the report notes, depend at least partly on pollination.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security.’\u003ccite> Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca,\u003cbr>\nUniversity of São Paulo \u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security,” assessment co-Chair Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca says \u003ca href=\"http://www.ipbes.net/article/pollinators-vital-our-food-supply-under-threat\">in a statement\u003c/a>. “Their health is directly linked to our own well-being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crops that need help from pollinators include coffee, apples, cacao, cotton, mangoes and almonds, to name just a few.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re also talking big business: “The annual value of global crops directly affected by pollinators” ranges from $235 billion to $577 billion, according to the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR’s Dan Charles says the report “is largely based on studies in North America and Europe; there’s been less research on pollinators in Africa and Asia.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was released by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which operates under U.N. auspices. The assessment cites about 3,000 scientific papers and, researchers say, “includes information about practices based on indigenous and local knowledge from more than 60 locations around the world.” The report was presented by IPBES on Friday in Kuala Lumpur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_550641\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 431px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-550641\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"Worker bees surround a queen, who is marked with a yellow spot on her back, Bees are essential in nature in pollinating a wide variety of plants and trees. \" width=\"431\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi.jpg 502w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/RS4802_167524958-sfi-400x287.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Worker bees surround a queen, who is marked with a yellow spot on her back. Bees are essential for pollinating a wide variety of plants and trees. \u003ccite>(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pollinators are under threat for a number of reasons.\u003cbr>\nThe decline of wild butterflies, bees and other pollinators “is primarily due to changes in land use, intensive agricultural practices and pesticide use, alien invasion species, diseases and pest, and climate change,” says IPBES Vice-Chair Robert Watson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also harming pollinators: “the decline of practices based on indigenous and local knowledge,” the assessment states. “These practices include traditional farming systems; maintenance of diverse landscapes and gardens; kinship relationships that protect specific pollinators; and cultures and languages that are connected to pollinators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the researchers say there’s plenty governments and communities can do to support these animals. “The good news is that a number of steps can be taken to reduce the risks to pollinators, including practices based on indigenous and local knowledge,” says IPBES founding Chair Zakri Abdul Hamid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement cites such examples as:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>“The promotion of sustainable agriculture” that emphasizes diverse habitats.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>“Supporting traditional practices that manage habitat patchiness, crop rotation, and coproduction between science and indigenous local knowledge.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Reducing their exposure to pesticides, including “seeking alternative forms of pest control, and adopting a range of specific applications, including technologies to reduce pesticide drift.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>“Improving managed bee husbandry for pathogen control, coupled with better regulation of trade and use of commercial pollinators.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Report%3A+More+Pollinator+Species+In+Jeopardy%2C+Threatening+World+Food+Supply&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Cockroach Robot Could Come to Your Rescue",
"headTitle": "Cockroach Robot Could Come to Your Rescue | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Squashing a cockroach is not easy if the insect scurries away or escapes between a groove in your shoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the pests are designed to move quickly under this type of pressure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American cockroach can flatten itself down to a quarter of its height and withstand almost 900 times its body weight without injury. And the bugs can move about 50 body lengths per second, which is equivalent to a human running 210 miles per hour. Roaches can even run at high speeds when flattened in half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These observations about the bug’s speed and flexibility led to a spark of insight for UC Berkeley researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, Kaushik Jayaram worked with integrative biology professor Robert Full to create a pliable robot modeled after the American cockroach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their design is outlined in a \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/02/04/1514591113\">paper published today\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/81Zv8PPF8bE\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The robot’s flexible shell covers legs that splay outward when it’s smushed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of the palm-sized robot is a plastic shield similar to the tough, smooth wings covering the back of a cockroach. When tested under pressure, the robot could run through crevices half its height.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“G\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">rowing up we’ve all seen cockroaches creep into buildings but what was so amazing to us was that they could squeeze through a gap the size of two pennies stacked on top of each other,” says Jayaram.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it can squeeze through small openings, the cockroach-inspired robot is extremely desirable for search-and-rescue operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a natural disaster, a swarm of robots could penetrate small openings in a pile of rubble to look for survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This robot is a first step toward a low cost first responder robot,” says Full. “Lots of robots now are really expensive and can’t get into tiny cracks but a swarm of small robots could get info about what areas are stable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_517976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1276px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-517976\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG.jpg\" alt=\"A cockroach can compress into a 4 millimeter space without any damage to its body.\" width=\"1276\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG.jpg 1276w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-400x87.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-800x173.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-768x166.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-1180x255.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-960x208.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1276px) 100vw, 1276px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cockroach can compress into a 3 millimeter space without any damage to its body. \u003ccite>(PNAS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The robot can be controlled via a joystick and moves for up to ten minutes before the lithium ion battery dies. Jayaram said the goal is to get this up to thirty minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram and Full’s flexible machine is part of a trend toward soft robotics. In 2011, scientists at the Wyss Institute created a \u003ca href=\"http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/12/soft-robots-starfish-variation\">starfish-like robot\u003c/a> that could squeeze through a mouse hole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the past we’ve made things very different from this–human technology has tended to be large stiff things with right angles.” says Full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As things take on more characteristics of nature they become more pliable and durable. The master shape changing animals are often considered to be worms, and slugs and octopi, which are extremely flexible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram is continuing to improve the robot prototype at \u003ca href=\"http://wyss.harvard.edu/\">Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering\u003c/a>, working to equip the next generation of robots with sensors and cameras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to create robots that could wirelessly transmit data to the cloud for FEMA or other government agencies to analyze. The US Army is also interested and has provided partial funding for Jayaram and Full’s project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram says he expects to have a new cockroach-inspired prototype equipped with cameras and sensors in about a year.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Squashing a cockroach is not easy if the insect scurries away or escapes between a groove in your shoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the pests are designed to move quickly under this type of pressure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American cockroach can flatten itself down to a quarter of its height and withstand almost 900 times its body weight without injury. And the bugs can move about 50 body lengths per second, which is equivalent to a human running 210 miles per hour. Roaches can even run at high speeds when flattened in half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These observations about the bug’s speed and flexibility led to a spark of insight for UC Berkeley researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, Kaushik Jayaram worked with integrative biology professor Robert Full to create a pliable robot modeled after the American cockroach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their design is outlined in a \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/02/04/1514591113\">paper published today\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/81Zv8PPF8bE\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The robot’s flexible shell covers legs that splay outward when it’s smushed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of the palm-sized robot is a plastic shield similar to the tough, smooth wings covering the back of a cockroach. When tested under pressure, the robot could run through crevices half its height.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“G\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">rowing up we’ve all seen cockroaches creep into buildings but what was so amazing to us was that they could squeeze through a gap the size of two pennies stacked on top of each other,” says Jayaram.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it can squeeze through small openings, the cockroach-inspired robot is extremely desirable for search-and-rescue operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a natural disaster, a swarm of robots could penetrate small openings in a pile of rubble to look for survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This robot is a first step toward a low cost first responder robot,” says Full. “Lots of robots now are really expensive and can’t get into tiny cracks but a swarm of small robots could get info about what areas are stable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_517976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1276px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-517976\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG.jpg\" alt=\"A cockroach can compress into a 4 millimeter space without any damage to its body.\" width=\"1276\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG.jpg 1276w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-400x87.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-800x173.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-768x166.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-1180x255.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/02/cockroach-squish_JPEG-960x208.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1276px) 100vw, 1276px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cockroach can compress into a 3 millimeter space without any damage to its body. \u003ccite>(PNAS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The robot can be controlled via a joystick and moves for up to ten minutes before the lithium ion battery dies. Jayaram said the goal is to get this up to thirty minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram and Full’s flexible machine is part of a trend toward soft robotics. In 2011, scientists at the Wyss Institute created a \u003ca href=\"http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/12/soft-robots-starfish-variation\">starfish-like robot\u003c/a> that could squeeze through a mouse hole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the past we’ve made things very different from this–human technology has tended to be large stiff things with right angles.” says Full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As things take on more characteristics of nature they become more pliable and durable. The master shape changing animals are often considered to be worms, and slugs and octopi, which are extremely flexible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram is continuing to improve the robot prototype at \u003ca href=\"http://wyss.harvard.edu/\">Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering\u003c/a>, working to equip the next generation of robots with sensors and cameras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to create robots that could wirelessly transmit data to the cloud for FEMA or other government agencies to analyze. The US Army is also interested and has provided partial funding for Jayaram and Full’s project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jayaram says he expects to have a new cockroach-inspired prototype equipped with cameras and sensors in about a year.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]There are more than 140,000 species of butterflies and moths in the world, fluttering on every continent except Antarctica. Their wings contain countless patterns and colors, providing critical tools for camouflage, finding mates and scaring off predators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Bay Area professor is trying to learn more about how those colors develop and evolve – by going very, very small.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.patellab.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nipam Patel\u003c/a>, a professor in the Molecular & Cell Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley, studies the thousands of tiny cells, known as scales, on butterflies’ wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a distance, the rows and rows of scales look like vivid patterns that decorate a butterfly’s wings. But up close, each scale is like a dab of paint in a \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"Normal__Char\">Pointillist \u003c/span>\u003c/a>painting or a tile in a mosaic; they represent an individual unit of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/morpho00058-1024x771.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24660\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/morpho00058-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"Scales on the wing of Morpho peleides. Image courtesy of Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lepidoptera, the name of the order that encompasses butterflies and moths, translates to “scaly wings” — as seen here on the wing of Morpho peleides. (Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Each scale is…a single cell, and as far as cells go, they are huge, much larger than the typical cells in our bodies,” says Patel, who also works in Berkeley’s Integrative Biology Department. “A human blood cell is about 10 microns in size — a pretty typical size for a cell in our bodies. A butterfly scale is…a huge one, about 50 microns across and 200-250 microns long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Morpho-peleides-blue-structure-15kX.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24695\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Morpho-peleides-blue-structure-15kX.jpg\" alt=\"Morpho peleides scale image (15kx) taken with a scanning electron microscope. (Ryan Null / UC Berkeley)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morpho peleides scale image (15kx) taken with a scanning electron microscope. (Ryan Null / UC Berkeley)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some butterfly scales are colored by pigments. But others rely on something called “structural color” -– the production of color by nano-sized elaborate shapes that reflect and bend light. Structural color is why we perceive the \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morpho butterfly\u003c/a>, a dazzling type of blue butterfly found in South America, Mexico and Central America, as bright blue, along with \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/11/12/347736896/how-animals-hacked-the-rainbow-and-got-stumped-on-blue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">peacock feathers, iridescent beetles and blue eyes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Blue is one the rarest colors made as a pigment,” notes Ryan Null, a graduate student in Patel’s lab. “Most animals can’t produce blue pigments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24713\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho3.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24713\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho3.jpg\" alt=\"Varying species of Morpho butterflies. Jenny Oh/KQED\" width=\"1000\" height=\"700\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Varying species of Morpho butterflies. (Jenny Oh/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One area of ongoing research in the lab centers on \u003ca href=\"http://www.patellab.net/research/structural-color/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">structural color in butterflies\u003c/a> as it relates to evolutionary developmental biology. The researchers are working to understand how nanostructures in butterflies’ wings are built during the third stage of a their life cycle, known as pupal development. Patel and Null wanted to observe how structural color takes shape on the wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because this normally occurs inside a Morpho’s opaque pupa and isn’t visible, they remove wings from pupae, grow them in a Petri dish, then study the process. Like developing a photograph or brushing paint on a blank canvas, colors and patterns slowly appear on the ghostly white wings over time – as shown in short \u003ca href=\"http://vimeo.com/77247171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">time-lapse movies \u003c/a>they’ve filmed of several different butterfly species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJEw79Eafck\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Ridges on the scales’ surface are a key component that affects \u003ca href=\"http://www.colours.phy.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Physics-Handout-v6_after-print.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how the wing refracts light\u003c/a>. (Video courtesy of Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scientists, who use high-powered microscopes to study their subjects, hope that by focusing on the very tiny, their research could be applied in innovative ways in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s cool about this work is that in contrast to the way people currently mimic naturally occurring structural colors — by using industrial processes deposit layers of heavy metals by electricity that’s expensive and energy-intensive — butterflies and moths have evolved a way to create these stunning colors with a string of sugar molecules,” says Null.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They appear to be the basic components of all animal cells. The genetic program controlling the creation of the nanostructures is elegant, robust and done in a way that is not hazardous to the life of the animal. If we can figure out how the butterflies do what they do, we have the potential to apply what we learn to a vast array of problems like creating cars that have their “paint” grown from the surface of their sheet metal, vivid cosmetics that are inherently safe for use with minimal testing, and even making solar cells more efficient.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24712\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho2.jpg\" alt=\"Morpho didius from Nipam Patel's specimen collection. Jenny Oh/KQED\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morpho rhetenor from Nipam Patel’s specimen collection. (Jenny Oh/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There are more than 140,000 species of butterflies and moths in the world, fluttering on every continent except Antarctica. Their wings contain countless patterns and colors, providing critical tools for camouflage, finding mates and scaring off predators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Bay Area professor is trying to learn more about how those colors develop and evolve – by going very, very small.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.patellab.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nipam Patel\u003c/a>, a professor in the Molecular & Cell Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley, studies the thousands of tiny cells, known as scales, on butterflies’ wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a distance, the rows and rows of scales look like vivid patterns that decorate a butterfly’s wings. But up close, each scale is like a dab of paint in a \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cspan class=\"Normal__Char\">Pointillist \u003c/span>\u003c/a>painting or a tile in a mosaic; they represent an individual unit of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/morpho00058-1024x771.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24660\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/morpho00058-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"Scales on the wing of Morpho peleides. Image courtesy of Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lepidoptera, the name of the order that encompasses butterflies and moths, translates to “scaly wings” — as seen here on the wing of Morpho peleides. (Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Each scale is…a single cell, and as far as cells go, they are huge, much larger than the typical cells in our bodies,” says Patel, who also works in Berkeley’s Integrative Biology Department. “A human blood cell is about 10 microns in size — a pretty typical size for a cell in our bodies. A butterfly scale is…a huge one, about 50 microns across and 200-250 microns long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Morpho-peleides-blue-structure-15kX.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24695\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Morpho-peleides-blue-structure-15kX.jpg\" alt=\"Morpho peleides scale image (15kx) taken with a scanning electron microscope. (Ryan Null / UC Berkeley)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morpho peleides scale image (15kx) taken with a scanning electron microscope. (Ryan Null / UC Berkeley)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some butterfly scales are colored by pigments. But others rely on something called “structural color” -– the production of color by nano-sized elaborate shapes that reflect and bend light. Structural color is why we perceive the \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morpho butterfly\u003c/a>, a dazzling type of blue butterfly found in South America, Mexico and Central America, as bright blue, along with \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/11/12/347736896/how-animals-hacked-the-rainbow-and-got-stumped-on-blue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">peacock feathers, iridescent beetles and blue eyes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Blue is one the rarest colors made as a pigment,” notes Ryan Null, a graduate student in Patel’s lab. “Most animals can’t produce blue pigments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24713\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho3.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24713\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho3.jpg\" alt=\"Varying species of Morpho butterflies. Jenny Oh/KQED\" width=\"1000\" height=\"700\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Varying species of Morpho butterflies. (Jenny Oh/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One area of ongoing research in the lab centers on \u003ca href=\"http://www.patellab.net/research/structural-color/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">structural color in butterflies\u003c/a> as it relates to evolutionary developmental biology. The researchers are working to understand how nanostructures in butterflies’ wings are built during the third stage of a their life cycle, known as pupal development. Patel and Null wanted to observe how structural color takes shape on the wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because this normally occurs inside a Morpho’s opaque pupa and isn’t visible, they remove wings from pupae, grow them in a Petri dish, then study the process. Like developing a photograph or brushing paint on a blank canvas, colors and patterns slowly appear on the ghostly white wings over time – as shown in short \u003ca href=\"http://vimeo.com/77247171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">time-lapse movies \u003c/a>they’ve filmed of several different butterfly species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJEw79Eafck\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Ridges on the scales’ surface are a key component that affects \u003ca href=\"http://www.colours.phy.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Physics-Handout-v6_after-print.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how the wing refracts light\u003c/a>. (Video courtesy of Nipam Patel / UC Berkeley)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scientists, who use high-powered microscopes to study their subjects, hope that by focusing on the very tiny, their research could be applied in innovative ways in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s cool about this work is that in contrast to the way people currently mimic naturally occurring structural colors — by using industrial processes deposit layers of heavy metals by electricity that’s expensive and energy-intensive — butterflies and moths have evolved a way to create these stunning colors with a string of sugar molecules,” says Null.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They appear to be the basic components of all animal cells. The genetic program controlling the creation of the nanostructures is elegant, robust and done in a way that is not hazardous to the life of the animal. If we can figure out how the butterflies do what they do, we have the potential to apply what we learn to a vast array of problems like creating cars that have their “paint” grown from the surface of their sheet metal, vivid cosmetics that are inherently safe for use with minimal testing, and even making solar cells more efficient.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24712\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ucberkeleymorpho2.jpg\" alt=\"Morpho didius from Nipam Patel's specimen collection. Jenny Oh/KQED\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morpho rhetenor from Nipam Patel’s specimen collection. (Jenny Oh/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"soldout": {
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