DEET Or How To Become Invisible To Bugs

You probably would laugh at the perspective of an insect looking at you as its favorite meal of the day, but that is the case for many of them, and the most familiar – the mosquito. There is a solution to that of course, DEET, an insect repellent that keeps those nasty bugs away; but did you ever wonder how?

Researchers from the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at the Rockefeller University explained that in fact, it’s not the odor of the repellent that keeps the bugs away, but the fact that DEET “inhibits electrophysiological responses of olfactory sensory neurons to attractive odors”, in other words, humans don’t smell that attractive anymore.

Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A newly arrived Canadian soldier was killed Sunday night while on foot patrol in the volatile Panjwai district southwest of Kandahar City.

The soldier, whose name has not been released, died after triggering an explosion around the village of Zangabad, a dangerous area known for insurgent activity and littered with mines and improvised explosive devices. He was brought by helicopter to the hospital at Kandahar airfield, where he died of his wounds.

Sunday’s fatality was the 81st Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan. One diplomat has also been killed.

Rescuers search for survivors after deadly blast at Albanian ammunition dump

TIRANA, Albania — Rescue teams worked into the night Sunday to try to locate nine people still missing a day after a chain of massive explosions flattened an Albanian ammunition dump and hundreds of nearby houses, killing at least nine and injuring nearly 300.

Defence Ministry spokesman Igli Hasani said the operation would continue “for as long as needed,” but rescuers – assisted by U.S. military explosives experts – were hampered by large quantities of unexploded artillery shells.

“The search operation will continue into the night with limited groups of experts,” he said.

Rock Band night brings out the fans — and game’s creators

On the last Tuesday of last month, Jeff MacIsaac leaned out of the window of the DJ booth at River Gods in Cambridge and announced it was time to start another “Rock Band” video game night. Many, many bars have “Rock Band” nights – it’s been described as the new karaoke – but River Gods is the only one in the world that can include this in its announcement:
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“If you want,” intoned MacIsaac, who is in charge of the entertainment at the bar, “you can play with some of the makers of the game.”

For the hardcore gamer, it’s a bit like getting to watch “Star Wars” with George Lucas – a chance for cult followers to get geeky with the brains behind their obsession. By 10 p.m., when MacIsaac kicked it off, a capacity crowd of about 50 people, beers in hand, had already filled the sign-up sheets, ready to get their shot on the virtual stage of this three-hour rock fest.