British bumblebees could be rescued – or threatened – by a foreign invader from continental Europe that resists parasites, say scientists.
The tree bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum, has spread rapidly since its arrival in the UK 13 years ago. Each year it expands its range by an estimated 4,500 square miles, an area half the size of Wales. A new study of tree bumblebee queens collected from the wild has shown they carry high numbers of a worm parasite that renders other bee species infertile. Yet a quarter of the queens were able to produce offspring, indicating they were immune to the infection.
Experts cannot yet make up their minds whether this is a good or bad thing. While the foreign bees may divert parasites from vulnerable native species, they might also compete for food and nesting sites.
‘Integrated’ brain yields results
Practice does not always make perfect – you also need an “integrated” brain to achieve good results, scientists have said.
People with higher levels of brain integration are more alert, interested in learning new things, and focused on the “big picture”. They also think “out of the box”, and are emotionally stable and unselfish, according to experts.
“It’s a simple fact that some people stand out, and we’re trying to tease out why. While there’s a common notion that 10,000 hours of practice is necessary for high achievement, some people put in long hours and do not excel,” said lead researcher Dr Fred Travis, from the Maharishi University of Management in the US.
Vincent van Gogh’s ‘ear’
A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh’s ear that was grown using genetic material provided by one of the 19th-century Dutch artist’s living relatives.
The Centre for Art and Media in Karlsruhe said artist Diemut Strebe made the replica using living cells from Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of Vincent’s brother Theo.
Using a 3D-printer, the cells were shaped to resemble the ear that Vincent van Gogh is said to have cut off during a psychotic episode in 1888.
Justin Bieber faces racist claim
Troubled chart star Justin Bieber has been caught up in further controversy about racist language after claims he used the N-word in a video and joked about joining the Ku Klux Klan.
The emergence of a new clip – reported by The Sun – comes just days after the Canadian heart-throb issued an apology for another poor taste film in which he made a racist joke which he called a “childish and inexcusable mistake”.
But now the paper says it has seen a further video in which he adapts the words to his 2009 hit One Less Lonely Girl to One Less Lonely N****r and was filmed early in his career after he signed a management deal as a rising child star. The 20-year-old has lurched from one problem to another in recent months.