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1. Entomophagy – or how would you like your locust? Fried or boiled?
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 We just couldn’t resist a little look at the subject of insect cuisine. Especially a recipe called Sheesh! Kabobs which entails skewering insects, tomatoes and onion wedges to make a visually appealing lineup (!) Mmmmmm.
However, many of the world’s indigenous cultures include some form of land-dwelling arthropod—an insect, spider, centipede, scorpion or such in their diet.
Venezuela’s Piroa tribesmen, for instance, are fond of giant tarantulas roasted over an open fire. Native Algerians feast on dried and salted locusts. In central Africa, the bug of choice is the termite, harvested en masse at the start of the rainy season. In south Australia, it’s the witchity grub—the larval form of an oversized moth. Ghost moth in actual fact.
Apparently
- A grasshopper’s body is more than 20% protein; nearly equal to that of lean ground beef. However if the grasshopper is dried then the content rises to 60%.
- Crickets are loaded with calcium, while termites are rich in iron.
- One hundred grams of giant silkworm moth larvae meet the daily requirements for copper, zinc, iron, thiamine and riboflavin.
Despite all these benefits we can’t really see them making it onto the shelves of your local supermarket. Even Jamie Oliver wouldn’t be able to put a spin on that one “Take your Orthoptera, lovely bit of salt and pepper, couple of minutes, add a handful of nematodes, bring to the boil – lavvley!”
Maybe we’ll stick to fish and chips. And talking of fish…
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2. The Astronomy of Astrology: Pisces
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 Welcome back to our resident Astronomer Extraordinaire, Alison Begley, with this month’s star sign Pisces. Sounds a bit fishy.
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Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
 This month Pisceans, instead of getting bogged down in the detail, step back and take a look at the bigger picture…
How to find Pisces… Pisces' V shape partially runs underneath Pegasus. If you look south at 10pm towards the end of November you'll see Pegasus high up and slightly to the right (west) - looking lower you'll spot the pentagon in Pisces. From there you should be able to trace out the rest of the constellation.
Unlike (most) Pisceans the constellation itself is a little dull, but it does keep interesting company. It is worth finding a dark place with clear skies to see one of Pisces' nearest companions. In the Andromeda constellation, and just a smidgen above Pisces, is M31, the Andromeda spiral galaxy. This is the only galaxy you can see with the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact it's the furthest thing visible with the naked eye, at a distance of over two million light years.
Andromeda is twice as big and bright as our Milky Way, and is reasonably hungry. It has recently tried consuming one of its smaller companion galaxies, M32, with both galaxies showing signs of a scuffle. In fact it looks like Andromeda might have two bright centres, perhaps where it is just finishing off an earlier galaxy meal.
The Milky Way and Andromeda are the biggest spiral galaxies in the 'local group'. Each has it's own hangers on; a selection of smaller irregular galaxies, around 30 altogether. Eventually it's likely that the two big spirals will merge to form a giant elliptical galaxy, rather like a massive rugby ball.
In our local neighbourhood are other clusters of galaxies, some of which are attempting to steal smaller galaxies from our group. The Virgo Cluster already has over 2000 members and its strong-arm tactics are forcing more to join. At even bigger scales these clusters form part of the local supercluster, which is over 100 million light years across, about one hundredth the size of the visible universe.
Beyond this is the rest of the universe, made of long filaments and sheets of gas, galaxies and clusters, surrounding completely empty bubbles. These huge voids occupy most of the space in the universe, while the filaments contain nearly all the material. On the largest possible scales the Universe resembles a sponge… how it came to look this way is one of the biggest unanswered questions in astrophysics.
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Next month… Aries… and seeing double.
Thanks Alison!
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3. Stump the Scientist
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 Do you remember in issue 208 when Keith Weston of Ditchingham Primary School, Norfolk asked (on behalf of one of his pupils): Why don’t we get more and more soil as leaves decay?
The answers came in fast and furious and there is some debate over whether it does increase.
Ian Parsons says “We do get more soil all the time. It is just a slow process. That is why archaeologists have to dig down to find remains! Of course there is constant erosion as well removing some of the new soil, but it all ends up somewhere. Even in my garden, I have to dig away from time to time to open a gate as the soil just keeps rising up to stop it!”
Su Bowerman agrees “I thought you do get new soil! That is why the Tower of London is so much lower than the ground today, or the Darwin / Dana house/exhibit near the Science Museum is so much lower, or any other archeological remains. The soil keeps being added to the top layer of ground, and the ground gets higher and higher. This may be partially why there are towns that used to be ports and now are further inland. Am I right?”
Well Reuben Thompstone thinks so, he says “there is a lot more soil now than there was on early Earth, however a lot of it is transported to the sea and deposited where some of it is compressed and cemented to become sedimentary rock.”
And Hilary Otter adds “The final products of decay are all soluble so they dissolve in soil water and can then used as nutrients by plants (via roots). In addition, all the carbon in the carbon based compounds in the leaves is eventually returned to the air as carbon dioxide gas produced by the microbes during respiration”
However, Susan Plimley asks “Keith's bright spark is thinking that micro-organisms decay leaves into soil. Surely they produce a liquid waste like the tiger worms do in their compost bins?”
And Fidelia Nimmons says “I believe that most primary school teachers explain micro-organisms and decomposition to years 5 & 6 simply by explaining that when leaves die, they break off the tree, fall to the ground and are broken down into their components parts by micro-organisms which live in the soil. These are minerals which go into the soil; the tree then absorbs these minerals together with any water (mainly rain) in the soil through it’s roots and stems back up to the leaves again; to help it make it’s food (in the process of photosynthesis). Any part of the dead leaf not absorbed by the soil is devoured (eaten) by organisms which live in the soil e.g. Earthworms. When a new leaf dies the process happens again. So no new matter is created or destroyed. The soil cannot therefore increase in size.”
So it looks like the scientists are still out on that one. Can you clear the matter up? Dave Hall has some very interesting comments but we will leave that till next week. Tune in for the next instalment.
If you can help or if you have a burning question of your own then send us an email with STUMP THE SCIENTIST in the subject line to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk
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4. Activity of the Week: Cloud in a jar
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They say every cloud has a silver lining. Maybe it’s time to find out.
 Adult supervision required
You will need:
- Matches
- Glass jar
- Small bag of ice
- Hot water
- Black paper (optional)
- Sticky tape to secure the black paper around the back of the jar (optional)
What to do:
- Cut a small piece of black paper and secure it around the back of the jar with sticky tape. This helps us “see” the cloud better.
- Pour hot water into the jar until is 1⁄4 full.
- Light a match, place it over the opening of the jar and blow it out. (this must be done by an adult).
- Wait a second or two then drop the match into the water inside the jar.
- Quickly place the bag of ice on top of the jar covering the opening. Make sure the ice does not go down into the jar but just across the top.
- Watch as the cloud begins to form!
- Lift the ice and watch the cloud come out. COOL! Now’s your chance to grab it and check whether it has a silver lining. Good luck with that!
What’s going on?
The warm water heats the layer of air that it touches. Some of the water evaporates into the air forming water vapour. The warm air containing water vapour rises, and then cools, as it comes in contact with the air cooled by the ice. When the water molecules cool, they slow down and stick together more readily. The particles of smoke act as nuclei for “bunches” of water molecules to collect on. This process is called condensation.
Clouds in the real world form in a similar way to the one created in the jam jar. As the atmosphere (air) cools, water vapour suspended in the atmosphere condenses into water droplets around condensation nuclei (tiny particles of dust, ash, pollutants, and even sea salt).
In this experiment the ice is used to cool the air, however, in the real world the main cause for cooling air is to force it to rise. As air rises it expands - because the pressure decreases through the atmosphere - and therefore cools. Eventually it may become saturated and the water vapour then condenses into tiny water droplets, similar in size to those found in fog, and forms cloud. If the temperature reaches below about -20 °C, many of the cloud droplets will have frozen so that the cloud is mainly composed of ice crystals.
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5. Mouses at the Ready
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 This week we have three copies of the fantastic new book Giant Leaps, jointly produced by The Sun newspaper and the Science Museum in London. If you find current science teaching and textbooks uninspiring then this is the book for you! Every major advance in mankind’s history is treated to a Sun front page spread on the right hand page. The left hand page has background, tables, graphics etc giving more explanation. The book looks at all aspects of science and technology going back to the dawn of time. What a brilliant idea! Headlines such as ‘Monkey Nutter – Barmy boffin Darwin reckons we are all descended from apes” accompanied by “Are you a chimp off the old block?”
But don’t just take it from us, Tony Blair says “This is a wonderful book, an extraordinary production… I also wish there had been a book like this to awaken my interest in science and make me want to find out more.”
For more information.
So do you want to win one? All you need to do is answer the following question:
Who said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."?
Send your answer in an email with your name and address, and the words PHEW WOT A SCORCHER in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.
The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 29 th November.
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Planet Science November Quiz
Last chance to enter the Voids Vacuums and Vacancies Quiz! Spot all the correct answers and you could win – NOTHING! That’s right – your prize could be a ‘style icon’ of a vacuum flask. Soup’s up!
Click here to enter.
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NEURObotics…the future of thinking – exhibition at Science Museum
Until April 2006
The exhibition investigates how medical technology could boost our brains, read our thoughts or give us mind control over machines. It shows how a shock to the brain can improve your creativity, a scan can reveal your deepest thoughts and your brainwaves can enable you to move in a virtual world. NEURObotics…the future of thinking is sponsored by Siemens and will be in the Museum’s Antenna Gallery for contemporary science.
Admission Free.
Press Office contact: Richard Purnell, 020 7942 4357 richard.purnell@nmsi.ac.uk.
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Free Flushed Away game – KS1
The Institute of Civil Engineering have produced 10,000 copies of an educational game based on the film ‘Flushed Away’ for Key Stage 1. The game is a cross-curricular end-of-term treat with curriculum-linked extension activities. If you would like to receive a free 'Flushed Away' board game please fill in your contact details here.
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Free tour of the British Geological Survey – Sat 2 December
This year the theme is ‘Neighbourhoods and woods’ and topics will include the evolution of plants, Charnwood Forest - home to Britain’s oldest fossils, the National Forest, and a history of coal.
The tours will include visits to the BGS’s amazing fossil collection and a chance to explore the geology of Britain in three-dimensions in their interactive 3D visualisation suite (high-tech goggles supplied). Demand is always high and places are limited. To book your tour, visit the BGS website and look for the link under ‘What’s New’.
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Last week’s winners of Flipside magazines are Katie Bowrey from Newquay, Yvonne Niescier from Liverpool, Christopher Davis from Cowbridge, Ian Nicholson from Glasgow and Fiona Austin from the Wirral. Well done everyone! They will be winging their way to you shortly.
Confession time. An almighty gaffe has been made in the splendid 007 quiz. Making it more of a 001 out of 10 for effort really. Thankfully Planet Science readers are an observant bunch and took great pains to tell us we had goofed. Here’s the story, not very interesting admittedly but there y’go: Seven James Bond movie titles were hidden throughout last week’s newsletter. One of them ‘For Your Eyes Only’ was hidden in the title of the section ‘Noticeboard: FYI’ which became ‘Noticeboard: For Your Eyes Only’. Very cunning, we chortled to ourselves. However, when the newsletter is put together by our super sleek state-of-the-art IT guru, this particular heading doesn’t appear. Not so cunning then Mr Bond. So thanks to everyone who entered and to all those dedicated individuals, REAL Bond fans like Ian Hemmings who said “Are you sure there are 7? I'd love to know where as I 'conshider myshelf' a bond buff. Possibly you might have thought that 'nobody does it better' was a movie, but it was only a song from 'From The Spy Who Loved Me'”
We feel bad. We really do. The thought of everyone trawling back and forth through the newsletter… Anyway, everyone who entered and found only six went into the draw regardless and the lucky winner is Chris Taylor from Fareham. Congratulations Chris! Maybe you ought to invite all your fellow competition mates round for a commiserative game of Xploda (with us holding on to it when the balloon bursts of course!). Sorry everyone. Hangs head in shame.
The answers were:
Dr No
Thunderball
The Living Daylights
Licence to Kill
From Russia with Love
GoldenEye
For Your Eyes Only
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9. Joke of the Week
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Q: What happened to the guy who poured sodium hypochlorite over a catholic minister?
A: He was charged with a bleach of the priest!
Q: How did the mathematician resolve his constipation?
A: He worked it out with a pencil!
Thanks to Dave Hart of the Institute of Food Research for those two.
Can’t blame him for this one though -
Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I'm a computer.
My goodness, you'd better come to my surgery right away!
I can't, my power cable won't reach that far.
Can you do any better? You know where we are: planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk Don’t forget to put JOKES in the subject line.
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