Now, insect cyborgs to help locate disaster victims

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A long-term study has shown that El Nino, a global climate pattern, drives Sulfur butterfly migrations across the Panama Canal. Climate change has been linked to changes in the migration of butterflies in North America and Europe but this is one of the first long-term studies of environmental factors driving long-distance migration of tropical butterflies.

September 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have created a locust flight simulator that could be the key to perfecting robotic flying insects. According to a report in New Scientist, researchers at the University of Oxford created the device.

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering with their sense of smell, which could reduce damage to crops by insect pests and contribute to food security. Scientists at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) made the discovery.

September 24th, 2009 LONDON - American scientist Ray Kurzweil, dubbed the smartest futurist on Earth by Bill Gates, believes that today's 60-year-olds could go on to live forever. The 61-year-old American elaborated that technology and understanding of human genes are accelerating at an incredible rate.

September 18th, 2009 VIENNA - Archaeologists have unearthed three Roman military camp sites archaeologists in Burgenland, Austria, which they say will rewrite the history of the Romans in the country. According to Weiner Zeitung, Stefan Groh, the leader of the Austrian Archeological Institute (OAI) team that discovered the sites, said that the three camp sites near Strebersdorf in Burgenland's Lutzmannsburg municipality were along the old amber road, the main Roman trading road in the region.

September 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A "micro-aircraft" inspired by the manoeuvrability and energy efficiency of an insect may have come closer to reality, for scientists have successfully decoded the aerodynamic secrets of insect flight. Dr. John Young, from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, and a team of animal flight researchers from Oxford University's Department of Zoology, used high-speed digital video cameras to film locusts in action in a wind tunnel, capturing how the shape of a locust's wing changes in flight.

September 6th, 2009 LONDON -Ever wondered why some people are bitten less than others by mosquitoes and midges? Well, the answer is: their sweet-smelling sweat. In a new study, boffins have discovered key differences in the body odours produced by people who are more prone to insect bites compared to those who seem resistant.

August 28th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Heathcliffe, a giant burrowing cockroach, could be the world's heaviest insect. The cockroach, 85mm in length and 40mm in width, gives birth to live young ones, unlike other members of its family who lay eggs.

August 15th, 2009 LONDON - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been asked by a man, who has been rendered homeless by a powerful earthquake, whether he can move in to one of his houses. Antonio Bernardini's home in the town of L'Aquila was destroyed by in the April disaster, which killed almost 300 people and left thousands to live in temporary accommodation.

August 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The circadian rhythms or biological "clocks" in some insects can make them far more susceptible to pesticides at some times of the day instead of others, reveal researchers at Oregon State University. The scientists said that with further research, they can tap into this genetic characteristic, identify the times that a target insect is most vulnerable to a specific pesticide, and use that information to increase the effectiveness, reduce costs and decrease the amounts of pesticide necessary for insect control.

August 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has shown that micro flying robots that hover like flies can save up to 50 percent energy if they swing an insect wing around like a helicopter blade. Previously, engineers have long been stymied in their attempts to fabricate micro aerial robots that can match the amazing flight capabilities of nature's most advanced flying insects - flies.

August 2nd, 2009 Union Carbide says exec not to blame for BhopalUnion Carbide is defending its former chief executive now wanted for arrest in India, saying managers couldn't have foreseen a gas leak at the chemical company's Bhopal plant that killed 10,000 people 25 years ago. An Indian court issued a warrant Friday for Warren Anderson and ordered India's government to press Washington for his extradition.

June 8th, 2009 LONDON - Mobile phones of the future would be able to form a peer-to-peer network to sound an alarm in the event of a disaster, and pass on the alert from phone to phone, even if most of a cellphone network is down. According to a report in New Scientist, this futuristic scenario might soon be a reality, if a new patent application by Telecommunications Company Motorola is anything to go by.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have been able to locate dozens of emperor penguin breeding colonies in Antarctica by spotting large amounts of the bird's droppings on pictures taken from space. According to a report in the Telegraph, satellite images have picked up giant red-brown stains on the pristine white sea ice, indicating the presence of thousands of penguins.

May 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a microchip-sized digital camera that can provide vision for the US military's insect-sized aircraft. The researchers say that the tiny camera is so light that it can be easily carried by the tiny surveillance drones.