Nontoxic Non-Chemical Mushroom Fungi Kingdom Provides Sound Alternative to Farming with Harmful Pesticides

""A patent for a pesticide made from mushrooms was granted in 2006. This pesticide is safe, nontoxic and can control over two-hundred thousand types of insects. Fungi are known to cause insect diseases and the use of spores from fungi has been known for over 100 years. Previous patents were granted as far back as 1992 for fungal ant killers and termite control. In 2014, pesticides were a $16 million dollar business. A fungi-based pesticide is safer to use, safer for the planet, and has no lasting effect on the plants or planet.

Current situation with insects and pesticides

Over 1 million types of insects populate our planet, but only 1 percent are harmful and considered to be "pests." They are considered to be pests because they eat the foods we grow, or harm the livestock we need, or destroy our homes. The cost of the destruction caused by pests is high, as is the effects of chemical pesticides used to eradicate them. Many insects are now becoming resistant to pesticides. In addition, use of pesticides has been linked to causing many problems including human infertility, birth defects and the demise of the honeybee population. Pesticide use also harms natural insect predators, such as rabbits and other beneficial insects.

How the mushroom pesticide works

The fungi pesticide works by attracting the insect, who then eats it and dies. A fungus is grown on grain or wood, or agricultural waste products. Insects are attracted to the fungus. When the insects eat the fungus, they become infected with the fungi, which kills them. Depending on the insect population, a variety of fungi, or a combination of different fungi can be used. Some of the fungi have what is called "phagostimulatory effect" which means that they cause the insects to want to feed. Basically, they increase the insects' hunger, then lead them to eat the poisonous mushrooms.

Research on using fungi as insecticides

Research on Eastern subterranean termites was conducted over a period of 14 days using three different types of mycelium test strains on rice. Beauveria bassiana # 74038, Beauveria bassiana # 20872, and Metarhizium anisopliae # 62176.

Mortality rates varied between 100 percent and 66 percent in the termites who ate the mycelium, compared to a death rate of only 45.46 percent in the control group. The same myceliums were used in research with red imported fire ants. After 21 days, the mortally of the ants ranged between 100 percent and 82 percent, compared to only 66 percent in the control group.

Mushroom pesticide use

The combination of fungi can be packaged and reactivated when needed. It can be sold dried, freeze dried, or as pellets, making the sale and distribution of this type of pesticidesimple and convenient. All that is needed by the farmer is to open the package and leave it near where insects are gathering. They can also be used to trap insects. Pesticides made from mushrooms are a safe alternative to chemical pesticides now on the market.""

http://www.naturalnews.com/049929_mushroom_pesticides_non-toxic_fungal_insecticides.html

Singing Stars May Be a Reality in the Universe

Scientists may have discovered the "sound" of stars by observing fluid in motion.

""A team of researchers observed the reaction of an ultra-intense laser with a plasma target, theUniversity of York reported. They noticed that a trillionth of a second after the laser strikes, plasma flowed from regions of high density to those of lower density. This event caused plasma to build up at the interface between high and low density areas, generating a sound wave.

The sound was of a frequency of more than a trillion hertz, which is six million times higher than what can be heard by any mammal.

"One of the few locations in nature where we believe this effect would occur is at the surface of stars. When they are accumulating new material stars could generate sound in a very similar manner to that which we observed in the laboratory - so the stars might be singing - but, since sound cannot propagate through the vacuum of space, no-one can hear them," said John Pasley, of the York Plasma Institute in the Department of Physics at York.

The technique used to observe this sound wave works similarly to a police speeding camera, allowing the researchers to analyze how the fluid moved when struck by the laser on a timescale of less than a trillionth of a second.

"It was initially hard to determine the origin of the acoustic signals, but our model produced results that compared [favorably] with the wavelength shifts observed in the experiment. This showed that we had discovered a new way of generating sound from fluid flows. Similar situations could occur in plasma flowing around stars," said Alex Robinson from the Plasma Physics Group at STFC's Central Laser Facility.""

http://www.hngn.com/articles/79515/20150323/stars-sing-a-song-but-its-too-high-for-even-bats-to-hear.htm

Remote 'Telexistence' Robot that Transmits Sight, Sound, and Touch to the Operator: Using Head-Mounted 3-D Visual Display, Advaced Audio System & Tactile Sensory Gloves

 

""Keio University researchers are taking telepresence to the next logical level with a new “telexistence” robot called TELESAR V, a robotic platform that doesn’t just transport the user's eyes to another location, but also his or her ears and hands as well. The idea is to break through the limitations of time and space to allow a user to actually feel like he or she is present elsewhere via a remotely operated robot that returns three sensory stimuli back to the user.""

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-11/video-telexistence-robot-conveys-sight-sound-and-touch-user