/oss/taxonomy/term/1156/all en /oss/article/medical-environment/curious-sexual-and-asexual-habits-mighty-mite <p>Have you ever heard of pancake syndrome? No, it’s not the medicalization of having breakfast for dinner, nor is it a skin rash reminiscent of those delicious flat cakes. It’s a severe allergic reaction that follows exposure to wheat flour. But there’s a twist.</p> Thu, 02 Mar 2023 22:33:42 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9421 at /oss /oss/article/environment/when-drinking-tea-you-get-mouthful-bug-dna <p>There are bugs in your cup of tea. Not whole bugs (hopefully not). But the essence of a hundred species of insects can be found in that tea bag you buy from the store. Even if you have been sipping tea for decades, I don’t think you need to worry about turning into Jeff Goldblum from <i>The Fly</i>.</p> Fri, 08 Jul 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9167 at /oss /oss/article/environment/plant-eats-bugs <p>The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant well known for its ability to lure insects (and arachnids) into its “capture organ.” Once they enter there is no escape. The organ shuts tight and the digestion process begins. <em>Dionaea muscipula, </em>the actual name of the Venus flytrap,<em> </em>is native to small, wetland areas in North and South Carolina, however, people have taken a shine to it as a houseplant so it is now grown in many other locations.</p> Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:59:20 +0000 Caitlin Bard, OSS Intern 8385 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-videos/right-chemistry-why-we-might-need-get-used-eating-bugs <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"></div> Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:44:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7875 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/why-mosquitos-bite-you-and-how-make-them-stop <p>Summertime means hammocks, BBQs, fireworks, and mosquito bites.</p> <p>At least it does for me. Those rotten little suckers seem to just love me. They’ll flock to me even when there are three other people sitting in my backyard. What is it about my blood that they seem to enjoy so much?!</p> <p>Let’s take a look at the science behind mosquitos and try to answer two questions: Why do mosquitos bite certain people, and what should we do to make them stop?</p> Fri, 05 Jul 2019 17:56:40 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7820 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/did-you-know-leafcutter-ants-are-farmers-who-grow-fungi <p>Leafcutter ants can strip as much as <a href="https://currielab.wisc.edu/research.php?area=Symbiosis+in+Grass-cutting+Ants">17%</a> of the leaf biomass from plants in their ecosystem and can <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafcutter_ant">clear </a>entire trees in under a day. Next to ours, leafcutter ant society is the most complex society on earth. They build nests that can contain thousands of rooms and cover up to 0.5 km<sup>2</sup>, a feat that is necessary since a mature colony can contain more than eight million individuals.</p> Fri, 03 May 2019 16:00:00 +0000 ada McVean B.Sc. 7742 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/bugs-among-berries <p>In general, I find “Center for Science in the Public Interest” to be a very reputable organization and I always enjoy reading “Nutrition Action,” their flagship publication. I usually find myself in agreement with Michael Jacobson, the microbiologist who has been the Center’s guiding light since 1977. Michael has been vocal about what he sees as the unnecessary use of food dyes, chemicals that really serve only a cosmetic purpose, often just aiming to increase the appeal of foods of low nutritional quality. He’s right. Do we really need multi coloured fruit loops and lollipops in every colour of the rainbow? Or yogurts that give the impression of having more fruit than they actually contain?</p> <p>Michael has taken Dannon to task over one issue: If you eat <a href="http://www.dannonyogurt.com/yogurt/fruit-on-the-bottom-yogurt/">Dannon’s "Fruit on the Bottom”</a> strawberry, raspberry, cherry, or boysenberry yogurt, or the strawberry variety of Dannon’s Oikos Greek yogurt, you are eating carmine—an extract made from the dried and pulverized dead bodies of the cochineal insect. That dye is also used in two flavours of Dannon’s Light and Fit Greek line, as well as in six of its Activia yogurts! Using red food dye of any kind in these products is deceptive, since consumers rightly expect that the pink or red colour in their strawberry, raspberry, cherry, or boysenberry yogurt comes from the fruit pictured on the label, not some extract made from six-legged creepy crawlies. But it certainly saves Dannon money by replacing berries or cherries with a food colouring.</p> <p>For most people, carmine is safe, but for a small number of consumers, it can be a serious problem. Some experience hives after consuming products with carmine, others have more potentially life-threatening anaphylactic shock. At the very least, Dannon should indicate on labels that carmine comes from an insect. Vegetarians who don’t have a dictionary handy would be especially interested to know. Perhaps if Dannon thinks its yogurt is insufficiently pink or red, they should use more strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or boysenberries—and not allergenic extracts made from insects.</p> <p>While I agree with the intent here, namely to eliminate the unnecessary use of food dyes, I think perhaps this particular issue has gained such notability due to most people’s general revulsion of insects. The fact that carmine derives from an insect has no bearing on its use as a food dye. Nobody would object to using beet juice as a red food colouring. Why not? Simply because they deem it to be natural, and therefore safe. Why is an insect considered any less natural than a beet? It isn’t, but neither is that of any relevance. Food dyes are subject to the same regulations, whether they are synthetic or natural. What matters is what the safety trials show, not the source of the dye, so while I agree that I would rather not see carmine used in food (at least without not labels), it is because I don’t like deception, not because I’m repulsed by an insect extract. In either case, you can rest easy knowing that the dye is a highly purified compound that has no insect properties, so you’re not actually eating any bugs with your morning yogurt. </p> <p> Wed, 31 Jul 2013 01:04:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1992 at /oss /oss/article/health/bugs-ear <p>You've probably heard this one.  An earwig crawls into a lady's ear while she is asleep on a beach.  She doesn't realize anything is wrong until she starts to have terrible pains.  An x-ray analysis reveals the bug is burrowing through her brain and the poor victim is told the earwig will eventually emerge from the other ear.  And that is just what happens.  The bug comes out and the pain disappears.  Life goes back to normal until the pain returns.  Another x-ray is taken and the patient is given the devastating news.  The earwig was a female and apparently pregnant because she laid eggs a</p> Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:15:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1717 at /oss /oss/article/environment/ants-our-homes <p>There are various insecticides that will eliminate ants. Chlorpyrifos is probably the most effective and is available in a number of commercial versions containing 0.5% of the active ingredient. It is also commonly used by professional exterminators who may have to drill holes in walls and spray in a mixture of chlorpyrifos and boric acid. Diazinon, another insecticide, when used as a spray at a concentration of around 12.5%, can also work well. And if the infestation is localized, ant traps with 0.125% chlordecone will work. Faced with an anthill? The answer is hot vinegar!</p> Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:37:41 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1818 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-history/carmine-dye-and-cochineal-insect <p>At least in a manner of speaking. When Hernan Cortez came to America in 1518 he was intrigued by the beautifully coloured Aztec fabrics, particularly the stunning reds. He asked the natives about the source of the colorant and was shown some specks on a cactus plant. Closer scrutiny revealed that the little specks were actually little bugs. Today we know them as Dactylopius coccus, or simply as cochineal. The dye that can be extracted from these insects is called carmine. Montezuma was so fond of it that he imposed a tax upon his subjects that had to be paid in dried cochineal bugs.</p> Wed, 15 Feb 2017 21:55:27 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1462 at /oss