Cognitive Labs

A couple of fascinating general science stories over the weekend:

First, scientists have sequenced the honeybee genome, which is pretty interesting because bees have such different appearances and behaviors depending on minor edits to the genetic structure. At slashdot, a clever poster had this to say:

< script language="make honeybee" >
Make Wings;
Make Thorax;
Make Head;
Size = 10;
if (GrowthStoppingHormonePresent == false){
Size+=20;
if (OtherQueenPresent == true){kill it;}
Spray Growth Stopping Hormone On All Bees Around You;
}
else
{
Behavior = "Go around gathering honey";
}

< / script>->

Secondly, a scientist in Oregon announced the discovery of the first known bee, 100 million years old, trapped in a chunk of amber extracted from a Chinese rock mine. (Think of the film Jurassic Park, a perennial favorite). This bee, only 1/10 of an inch long, was responsible for the flourishing of flowering plants which started around that time.

// posted by neurofuture7:15 PM permanent link