Adventure Ausrama Blog

Bees don't just take pollen: they physically make flowers release the pollen. The ,  Australian blue-banded bee, Amegilla murrayensis,  and the  North American eastern bumble bee,  Bombus, impatiens,  were compared. Slow motion filming enabled observation of bee behavior. North American bees grabbed the flower anther with their mandibles (hands) then tensed their wing muscles and began to "vibrate' the pollen free. This proces was carried out once per flower Blue-banded bees did not use their mandibles at all. They used their heads, literally. They headbutted the flowers with their heads repeatedly at a very high frequency. The frequency was higher than the North American bee so the blue bee visited more flowers. However, the Australian bee came back several times to the same flower to give it another go. Overall, the blue-banded bee is a more efficient pollinator. If used by growers it could potentially produce more fruit and vegetable. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan

More women are moving into academia every year. This is the overall picture. Some areas are still sparsely populated by women. Physics is such a sector of learning. Name a woman physicist - any woman! Few recognise that maths is easier for men, but this is true. There is something about the male hormone that creates this state. Just like women are better at using words. Notably female physics students at the University of Melbourne have admitted that most women do not have the capacity to master physics. There will always be a few exceptions. However, the reality is that generally, women find study in this specialty difficult. Many female students who try physics ultimately end up in chemistry. They do feel more comfortable there. The survey of first year females showed more than 50 per cent had a negative outlook of their chances of succeeding. This makes one wonder why they are in the course. However, some were studying physics as a requirement of other degree