Adventure Ausrama Blog

Bees calculate how much energy they need to get pollen. To survive, bees must run on a "profit" basis. They must not use more energy in obtaining nectar than energy the nectar provides. Bees were given the choice of travelling along two pathways to get nectar. One pathway was 10 meters long, the other 20 meters. However, the "scenery" of the 10 meter pathway was designed to trick the bees into perceiving that it was the furthest distance away. When the bees returned to their fellows in the nest they told them with a waggle dance which pathway to use to get more pollen. Despite the 10 meter pathway appearing to the bees to be further away they told other bees to go to the feeder in the 10 meter pathway. Somehow, they had worked out that it used up less energy to go to this feeder than the one on the other pathway. It is believed that bees have "calorimeters" built into their brains. They do not judge energy expenditure solely based on distance travelled

Allergic reactions are increasing in epidemic proportions across the world and the real cause is still unknown. Sinusitis from hay fever affects twice as many people as it did ten years ago. Medications no longer seem effective as those with sore eyes and runny noses dose themselves up on corticosteroids and anthistamines. This is not only costing millions in lost man-hours as the afflicted stay at home, but the cost of medications is skyrocketing. Sufferers cannot cope with the seemingly never ending symptoms. They cannot live normal lives. For example, if students are affected during school leaving exams their grades can be lower. They are stuck with the low grades for ever. Antihistamines cause drowsiness. This leads to more accidents at work and road accidents. The cause could lie in our diet of processed food. Children with ADHD improve when they are treated with antihistamines. Drowsiness for them is not a problem. Autistic children also get better when their intake