Dragonflies

Speakers: Rachel Roberts (Standard British) and Chuck Rolando (Standard American)

CYBER INSECTS!

US government agency DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Project Agency) is funding some strange projects these days: for example, the creation of an army of cyber-insects. The insects will fly to investigate suspicious objects for explosives and then transmit the results. Scientists are manipulating the growth of insects, such as dragonflies and moths, by inserting micro-systems at the pupa stage of their development. The micro-system then becomes part of their evolved bodies and scientists can control the actions of the insects. Previous experiments with wasps failed because the cyber-wasps ignored objectives and just flew away. British entomology expert Stuart Hine is skeptical: “It’s possible to use insects to detect explosives,” he says, “but controllable cyber-insects are simply fiction.”

IS YOUR TRANI RUNNING LATE?

British trains were once famous for punctuality, but that is no longer true. It isn’t uncommon for travellers to spend hours waiting for trains, but the situation could be far worse. Recent reports tell us British Rail planned to develop a spacecraft: in March 1973 the company patented a design for a spacecraft powered by a thermonuclear reactor. Luckily, inventor Charles Osmond Frederick based his design on fusion technology which still doesn’t exist: otherwise, today you might be waiting for that incredibly late spaceship from Mars to Earth!

ANYONE FOR GOLF?

The Toronto golf company, Element 21, wants astronauts on the International Space Station to play golf during a spacewalk scheduled this year. An astronaut will hit a golf ball into space; the ball will then orbit around the Earth for four years. Experts warn the astronaut must be careful as the ball might travel the same orbit as the space station and return to hit it. They say the collision would be equal to a 6.5 tonne truck crashing at 100 kilometres per hour. Bill Ailor of the US Aerospace Corporation says this is nonsense. NASA is still evaluating the risks.