Wikinews |
- Tobacco attracts predators with chemicals in response to caterpillars, a study finds
- Support for an Australian republic slips
- Young motorcycle racer Peter Lenz dies in race crash aged 13
- 2010 FIBA World Championship starts
- Teachers at Australian school shocked at no warning over redundancies, can apply before 'externals'
- Six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan over two days
| Tobacco attracts predators with chemicals in response to caterpillars, a study finds Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 Ian Baldwin, of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and colleagues have discovered a multi-step protective mechanism of tobacco plants against Manduca sexta caterpillars. In response to a chemical in the caterpillars' larvae, the plants release an odorous substance into air to attract another species of insects, called "big-eyed bugs" (Geocoris). These carnivores come to the scene and attack the caterpillars. The response is triggered within 24 hours, which is a relatively short period of time. The discovery occurred as a result of field studies in a nature preserve in southwestern Utah. The phenomenon starts with the recognition of the caterpillars by the plant. As a PhD student in the Department of Molecular Ecology Silke Allmann explained, "The plant cannot see its attacker, but plants can sense the digestive substances that attacking larvae have in their oral secretions when these substances come into contact with the leaves." To test that, the scientists coated some of caterpillars' eggs on two groups of tobacco plants and glued them. On one of the groups, the glue was mixed with caterpillars' split. The latter got more attention of the attackers, getting 25% of eggs destroyed against 8% for the other group. More... |
| Support for an Australian republic slips Posted: A new Nielson poll has suggested that Australian support for a republic has dropped, with one third of people surveyed claiming that they never want the country to cut its ties to the Monarchy of Australia, headed by the Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of Australia. Out of 1,400 people polled prior to the 2010 federal election, those who oppose Australia becoming a republic grew by 8 per cent since 2008. Caretaker Prime Minister, Julia Gillard claimed during the campaign of the 2010 federal election, that she believed Australia should become a republic at the end of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. 34 per cent of those in the poll share this view, wanting Queen Elizabeth II to be Australia's last monarch. At the extremes of the poll, 29 per cent of those surveyed believe Australia should become a republic as soon as possible, while 31 per cent believe Australia should never become a republic. John Wurst of the Australian Republican Movement claims that "It's a ridiculous statement to say that we should wait until the Queen dies and I'm surprised that the Prime Minister and others would take that position [...]I think we should move as soon as we're ready, and as soon as we're ready should be now." More... |
| Young motorcycle racer Peter Lenz dies in race crash aged 13 Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 Peter Lenz, a 13-year-old motorcycle racer, has died after being involved in a crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While on his warm-up lap, Lenz fell off his bike, and was then struck by fellow racer Xavier Zayat. He was immediately attended to by the on-track medical staff and transported to a local hospital where he later died. Zayat was unhurt in the accident. Lenz was due to participate at the US Grand Prix Racers Union event ahead of the world championship races. Racing from the age of 7, Lenz won nine national championships. More... |
| 2010 FIBA World Championship starts Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
The 2010 FIBA World Championship's opening ceremony took place in Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul on Friday. More... |
| Teachers at Australian school shocked at no warning over redundancies, can apply before 'externals' Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010 A deal between Sunshine Coast Grammar School headmaster Nigel Fairbairn and the Independent Education Union of Australia has ended a week of uncertainty for 22 of the Queensland, Australia school. Last week Wikinews obtained a list of 22 middle management teaching staff allegedly made redundant, or laid off due to restructuring. The restructuring is, apparently, designed to get teachers back into the classroom. More... |
| Six U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan over two days Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
Six United States soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in eastern and southern Afghanistan. Their deaths were announced by NATO's International Security Assistance Force. They said the troops died on Saturday and Sunday. More... |
-Red_version.svg&filetimestamp=20091219230202)
| You are subscribed to email updates from Wikinews To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment