Boozy hornets may find drink is their downfall
Sofia Quaglia’s article on the oriental hornet’s liking for alcohol could explain why the commonest trap in Portugal for the Asian hornet works so well. It may also enable an immediate and easy measure to protect bees if these predators become established elsewhere (2 November, p 18).
This trap uses an empty plastic 1 or 1.5-litre water bottle, with the top cut off, inverted and taped back on to form an entry tunnel. The bottle is then filled a third to half full with an equal mix of undiluted blackcurrant juice, white vinho verde (mildly sparkling, young wine) and a light blonde beer (like San Miguel). Apart from the occasional wasp, all we have caught over several years in Portugal are Asian hornets. A local beekeeper caught 600 over a long weekend by placing these traps by his 18 hives.
Insects hold answer to the fish farm feed dilemma
The havoc wrought by feeding farmed fish with wild-caught fish could be eliminated if industrial-scale insect farming were used to provide the feed instead (26 October, p 16).
While convincing people to eat insects is an uphill struggle, it is relatively straightforward to get them to do so indirectly if they are “transformed” into fish first.
Votes for and against a return to pure democracy (1)
Roger Morgan worries that citizens’ assemblies can become self-selecting due to large-scale refusal to participate, and hence polarised. The simple solution to this, hinted at in the original article, is to make participation compulsory in the same way that jury duty and, in some countries, voting are, allowing for rare exceptions due to personal circumstances. Failure to participate could result in criminal proceedings and risk a prison term and financial penalty (Letters, 2 November).
Combine that with truly random selection from the whole citizenry 鈥� including children or those who are homeless or imprisoned 鈥� and you have a representative sample.
Votes for and against a return to pure democracy (2)
In your look at ways to create direct democracy by the people, for the people (5 October, p 32), Laura Spinney ascribes scientific and philosophical achievements of ancient Greece to such a system. However, science has also flourished under caliphs, tsars, queens, popes and emperors.
In addition, a problem with direct democracy is that most people have insufficient time and ability to take a holistic view. Do I want lower taxes? Yes. Do I want better public services? Yes. The principle of the parliamentary system is that you vote for someone you consider to have the skill and, by virtue of being paid, the time to take such a view.
Shackleton's doomed ship makes an incredible sight
What an amazing image of Shackleton’s ill-fated ship Endurance. The preservation is astonishing compared with that of Titanic. Endurance sits on the seabed at a depth of 3008 metres compared with Titanic at 3800, so both very deep and cold, but the former appears to be in much better order with few signs of steel decay. Is there any explanation as to why it looks so good(2 November, p 24)?
Millions of South Koreans handle home fermenting
When it comes to fermented food, Isabelle Savary-Auzeloux recommends finding a trusted source and cautions against the do-it-yourself route. That will seem strange to people in South Korea and other countries where traditional fermented food is routinely made at home (2 November, p 39).
Like most home-cooking techniques, fermenting requires some care to be safe. However, I think the consensus among food scientists is that as long as normal food hygiene and reputable recipes are followed, then it isn’t risky. Aspiring fermenters shouldn’t be put off.
We will get closer to the true nature of reality
I see inherent self-contradiction in Daniele Oriti’s statement that “we make reality”. This is to claim to know reality. It is akin to saying that “there is no truth in words” (12 October, p 40).
Science advances roughly in step with our ability to make measurement. We have had only a few centuries of scientific progress. Imagine what perspective we may have on the underlying nature of the universe if we were to survive in societally decent ways for another million years. I doubt that reality is capable of being fully understood, but our glimpses will become more compelling as we manage to make finer, increasingly groundbreaking measurements.
Early claim of cannibalism on voyage led to backlash
Regarding cannibalism on the Franklin expedition to find the North-West Passage, 19th-century Scottish explorer John Rae reported signs of this, but was ostracised as a result, and never got proper recognition for his findings (5 October, p 15).
Trying to explore sleep's twilight zone
When it comes to trying to tap into sleep’s twilight zone 鈥� those moments between being fully asleep and awake 鈥� I have been using a simple variation of the Thomas Edison metal ball system in the form of a book, which wakes me suddenly when it falls out of my hands while reading in bed. I am then wide awake and re-read the last paragraph, looking for the exact spot where I was overtaken by the “sleep-onset period” (26 October, p 42).
However, I never seem to find it. The paragraph is initially crystal clear, but a moment later the book falls again, and the process repeats. After about four tries, I surrender myself into the eagerly awaiting arms of Morpheus.
For the record
Epstein-Barr virus was the first human cancer-causing virus to be identified (5 October, p 45)
Gravitational time dilation means that time flows more slowly when gravity is stronger, for example near a black hole (19 October, p 22)