Scientists say that bed bugs seem to prefer certain colors rather than others, which may mean that this strange matter can be used to limit the presence of these troublesome pests on our beds, and according to a study published in the journal “Entomology”, these insects that absorb Blood loves black and red while hates yellow and green, and this information may help in setting up tighter ambushes to lure these insects and their families.
American scientists say it is too early to say that the yellow bedspreads prevent the proliferation of bed bugs on your bed, and bed bugs are a very small lesion that loves to live near its meal – human blood. These pests can hide inside the edges of the mattress (or mattress) or inside the bed frame, and these pests tend to prefer fabrics and wood more than plastic and iron, and doctor Corinne McNeil and her team wanted to know the effect of colors on the location of the bed bug, and they conducted several experiments in the laboratory, where They put bed bugs in plates with various colored cardboard shelters.
Instead of bed bugs hiding indiscriminately, this pest seemed to choose shelters according to their color, with a preference for black and red, and McNeill said, “We initially thought that bed bugs might prefer red because blood is red, which it nourishes,” and added, “But after Conducting the study, we believe that the main reason for preferring red colors is that the color of bed bugs appears red, and therefore the trend is preferred to this color because it wishes to stay with other bed bugs. “
It seemed that bed bugs do not like the yellow and green colors, in what may be due to the fact that these two bright colors remind him that he is in a bright place where it is not easy to hide, according to the researchers, and previous studies concluded that these two colors do not attract other insects that suck human blood such as mosquitoes and sand flies “I am always joking with many people and I advise them to buy yellow bedding,” McNeill said. “But honestly, this may be a continuation of the (study-specific) findings.”
“I do not know how far I can advise someone not to buy a red travel bag or red bedding, because the research on this topic has not been conducted yet, so we cannot decide on this matter now.”
Using locusts to “detect explosives”
Scientists are conducting technical research that allows locusts to detect explosives using the sense of smell, and scientists say that “providing the locust with a thermal tattoo will allow them to guide them to dangerous and isolated areas”, and they indicated that the nerve signals that the locust brain sends will be analyzed via a chip that will decode the information and send it to the authorities.
Brendharn Raman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Washington University, has devoted to studying locust smell, and the US Marine Research Office has provided Raman with a $ 750,000 grant to continue his research on the locust olfactory screen.
And the sense of smell in insects is one of its strongest senses, and locusts can recognize a specific smell even if they are mixed with other smells. Professor Raman said that “locusts have robotic noses and it is easy to train them to identify and remember the smell of dangerous chemicals.”
He told BBC that “within a few seconds, locusts can track a new smell that has been introduced in their surroundings and thus process chemical signals in a very fast way.” Srikana Singamania, associate professor of materials science and a specialist in nanomaterials, explained that he would create a “tattoo” made Of silk so that it is placed on the wings of locusts to generate moderate heat to help guide them to specific locations via the control device, and Singamania pointed out that “tattoos can collect samples of volatile organic compounds for examination by different methods,” and Professor Raman estimates that the prototype of this tattoo will be subject to Tests strict during the year, and if successful, the locusts could be ready in less than two years, “Professor believes that the new sensor technology may help detect medical conditions in humans which are diagnosed through the sense of smell.
Scientists determine the gene responsible for changing the shapes and colors of the wings of butterflies
Researchers have determined the gene that makes butterflies be able to change the appearance of their wings to hide from the eyes of predatory species, such as making them black to identify with the color of tree branches, and it is known about the types of butterflies that they change the color of their wings from bright colors to what resembles the color of tree branches, especially A kind known as spoofed butterflies that lives in Britain, in the nineteenth century, when the industrial revolution entered the English cities, the branches of the trees became covered with black coal dust, and their color became more dark, and to adapt to the new reality, these butterflies changed their color to a darker color, more like The new color of the sh Jerr, University of Liverpool researcher Ilick Saakscheri and his colleagues have been able to detect the gene responsible for the color changing of butterflies and their ability to mask. According to Agence France-Presse.
According to the study published in the British “Nature” magazine, this gene began to develop in the beginning of the year 1819, with the start of the industrial revolution, and a study published in the same magazine prepared by Nicolas Nadu, a researcher at the University of “Sheffield” in Britain, spoke about this gene also and its role in changing colors and patterns On the wings of large butterflies that live in the tropics, and this change is always aimed at hiding predatory species, the researcher said “It is interesting that this same gene is responsible for changing the shapes of wings and their colors” at different types of butterflies, and she added, “This matter indicates that this The gene does the same I have this kind of insect, and he may be responsible for similar changes in other types of butterflies as well.
