This page will be devoted towards interesting science stories that I come across.  Some of the stories are water/wastewater related while others are reflective of my many interests.

Some organisms do not poop, until certain conditions are met:

Social organisms like bees, wasps, ants have evolved to not poop until a specific growth phase is reached.  Bee larvae will not defecate within their larval chambers.  The accumulated waste is actually released when the bee has metamorphose from the larva to the adult and takes its first flight.  The released fecal pellet is called a meconium.  Ants have evolved castes that will be the sanitation personnel of the colony.  Their job is to remove wastes that accumulate in the tunnels/passages, living quarters, and throughout the colony.  To read the story use the following link:

Cleanest creatures skip the bathroom

To access the full article by Duncan Jackson and Adam G. Hart entitled “Does Sanitation Facilitate Sociality” published online in the journal Animal Behaviour click on the link.  It will allow you to download the article as a PDF.  That is right, humans are not the only living organisms that have to deal with their own wastes.  Social organisms have evolved different ways to address this issue.  It is interesting how nature has solved this in numerous ways.

Human Hair Makes Good Fertilizer

So you thought that all those hair balls that accumulate in the primaries, clog up your pumps, and just make you want to curse at the mere sight.  Well, think again.  Researchers at Mississippi State University decided to see if hair would make a good fertilizer.  To their amazement, hair actually supplied ample amounts of nitrogen to growing plants.  Use the following links to read more about this research and to access summary of the paper:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28509911/

http://horttech.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/18/4/592

Making a Difference

Leon McLaughlin

I was watching the NBC Evening News with Brian Williams a couple of days ago and a segment entitled “Making a Difference” caught my attention.  Leon McLaughlin owns a shoe shine stand in Seattle, WA and uses some of the profits from this business to help out villages obtain clean drinking water.  To view the video use the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/28584446#28584446