It’s been a big few weeks for Beyonce. First she gave birth to her daughter. Then she had to listen to Jay-Z’s “song” about her daughter. Then she had an Australian horsefly named after her. More »
By tricking a fruit fly into thinking it was flying using an array of LEDs, researchers used the fly’s wing movements to steer a robot through an obstacle course. There’s video, so you can check out this cyborg fly for yourself. More »
Scientists believe that fly eyes are perfectly shaped for manufacturing efficient solar cells. Specifically, copying the eye of the Blowfly would allow solar cells to “collect sunlight from a larger area than just light that falls directly on a flat surface”. More »
Today we salute you… biologists that gave a fly a full Brazilian with a laser so that you can study mating habits. More »
Someone thought that the best way to promote their company was by attaching paper ad banners to real flies. I tried this at school to pass notes to a pretty girl called Carla. It ended in pain. More »
Fly-Goodbye says “hello to my little friend” when it comes to eradicating flying pests. It’s kind of like a Super Soaker of doom.
Picture tracing a housefly’s skittering, random path as it dots about your home with a trail of ink: That’s kind of what this cooky art installation evokes. It’s a robot arm connected to a sensor chamber that has some kind of fly-enticing power. When a fly is inside the chamber, the arm jerks spasmodically in time to the fly’s movements, and traces a beautifully chaotic drawing on a huge reel of paper. When the fly leaves, the paper scrolls, so the artwork is constantly evolving. It’s clever stuff by artist David Bowen, and if you’re having difficulty envisioning it, check the link for a video. [DWBowen]
