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The Salt
5:04 pm
Thu March 7, 2013

If Caffeine Can Boost The Memory Of Bees, Can It Help Us, Too?

Credit Adam Cole/NPR / iStockphoto.com
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Originally published on Thu March 7, 2013 6:13 pm

Who knew that the flower nectar of citrus plants — including some varieties of grapefruit, lemon and oranges — contains caffeine? As does the nectar of coffee plant flowers.

And when honeybees feed on caffeine-containing nectar, it turns out, the caffeine buzz seems to improve their memories — or their motivations for going back for more.

"It is surprising," says Geraldine Wright at Newcastle University in the the U.K., the lead researcher of a new honeybee study published in the journal Science.

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Asia
4:59 pm
Thu March 7, 2013

Young Chinese Translate America, One Show At A Time

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The Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels, is one of the most popular American TV series in China. It's a favorite among a cadre of young, informal translators who see it as a way to challenge conventional Chinese thinking.
Credit Nick Briggs / AP/PBS
At least three translating groups in China focus on British drama Downton Abbey. For many young Chinese, it provides a window onto a foreign world of privilege and class dynamics.
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Originally published on Thu March 7, 2013 9:42 pm

Every week, thousands of young Chinese gather online to translate popular American movies and TV shows into Mandarin. Some do it for fun and to help people learn English, while others see it as a subtle way to introduce new ideas into Chinese society.

Among the more popular American TV shows on China's Internet these days is HBO's The Newsroom. One reason is an exchange between a college student and a news anchor played by Jeff Daniels. The young woman asks the aging newsman why the United States is the greatest country in the world.

The anchor explodes.

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Shots - Health News
4:44 pm
Thu March 7, 2013

Shrimp Trawling Comes With Big Risks

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Credit Eric Gay / AP
John Berthelot, top, and Hosea Wilson, bottom right, release the nets from their shrimp boat, Monday, May 3, 2010, at the Venice Marina in Venice, La.
Credit Dave Martin / AP
The shrimp boat Endless Grind trawls for shrimp off Dauphin Island, Ala., in May 2012.
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By Scott Hensley

Originally published on Thu March 7, 2013 6:03 pm

Think your job is bad? Quit whining, unless you're a shrimper in the Gulf of Mexico.

Commercial fishermen have the highest rate of on-the-job fatalities of any occupation in the country — 116 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2010. A majority of the deaths happen when a fishing vessel sinks. About a third occur when someone goes overboard.

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The Two-Way
4:39 pm
Thu March 7, 2013

In The Iditarod Race, 'Pee Pants' Get An Endurance Test

Credit Dan Joling / AP
Several female mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are trying out new attire that allows them to skip bathroom stops. Here, a musher and his team pass fans at the ceremonial start of the race in Anchorage.
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The Salt
4:09 pm
Thu March 7, 2013

Plague Of Locusts Has Israelis Asking: Are They Kosher For Passover?

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Credit Olivier Fitoussi / AP
An Israeli cook displays locusts at a restaurant in Jerusalem, at a 2010 event promoting locusts as a tasty kosher treat.
Credit Olivier Fittussi / AP
An Israeli Orthodox Jewish man mimics putting a locust into a boy's mouth, during an event meant to highlight locusts as a kosher treat, at a restaurant in Jerusalem in 2010.
Credit Hatem Moussa / AP
A Palestinian farmer collects a locust in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. A swarm of locusts crossed into Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip from neighboring Egypt this week.
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By editor

Originally published on Fri March 15, 2013 4:54 pm

A swarm of locusts that has devastated crops in Egypt made its way into neighboring Israel this week. And with Passover just around the corner, many news outlets couldn't resist noting the shades of the biblical tale of Exodus, when the insects were one of 10 plagues that descended upon Pharaoh and his people.

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