Jeri Smith-Ready

Science Friday

• Sweet, dude!

Scientists at the USDA have added a chemical to table sugar to create an environmentally friendly pesticide, according to this article on LiveScience.com. The pesticide leaves no chemical residues and can't penetrate human skin. It's currently used against a mite that has decimated honey bee populations but the EPA is looking to approve it for household use against wasps and cockroaches.

• Deep Impact: the Not-Movie

This July 4th, a portion of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will collide with Comet Tempel 1. The collision--or at least the resulting BAM!--will be visible to the average backyard telescope on Earth. Principal Investigator Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland (Woo! Fear the Turtle!) says that the mission is designed to learn more about the interior makeup of comets, which will teach us a lot about how the solar system was formed. Also, it's nice to know what happens when a comet explodes, in case one ever heads our way...

• Their Honors Have Honor

On Monday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution requiring cities to try to meet or exceed standards set by the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol is the global warming treaty ratified by the international community earlier this year, with the glaring exception of the United States. These cities can do it; Toronto did.

• posted by Jeri @ 9:02 AM