kindbacteria

I was filling up my car at an AM/PM mini-mart in Downey and I saw this sign. What impressed me the most was the quality of the printed sticker. Someone spent a lot of money on this embarrassing typo.  It’s not like AM/PM is a locally owned station. I looked them up online, there are more than 1,100 of them and they claim to carry the largest selection of beer of any gas station.

I emailed this picture to a friend who is obsessed about grammar and spelling and she suggested I carry a Sharpie with me at all times to fix those things.

Today is “Wen-sday” as we call it here in the office. It’s a celebration of all things Wen. Specifically the food trucks. On Wen-sday, there are 3 gourmet food trucks that park across the street and they serve the most amazing fare. Two weeks ago I had a burrito that made me weep.

We made some headway on our two big initiatives yesterday. We’re closer to getting an expansion strategy and we signed off the on the Variety Pack. We should have it in stock next week.

We’re also continuing to upgrade the website and fix the typos of our own. We think we’ve got most of the typos fixed. Fortunately, there are lots of people looking at it, so we’re getting some great feedback. If you see anything jump out, please let us know.

Here’s the link to today’s story:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/02/23/russian-doll-warfare-virus-bacteria-aphid-wasp/

It’s interesting, and more than a little gross.

Aphids are major pests on farms and gardens. To get rid of them, researchers have been unleashing aphid wasps on them. When an aphid eats a plant, the plant releases pheromones into the air. The wasp detects these chemicals and finds its way to the aphid.

The wasp then lays an egg inside the aphid. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva consumes the inside of the aphid as it grows. Which is great for the wasp, and not so great for the aphid.

Some wasps lay more than one egg in an aphid, though only one wasp emerges per aphid. On a side note, you can purchase 250 mummified aphids with wasps ready to emerge for $69.95. Sounds like fun for whole family.

Scientists have finally figured out the reason for the multiple eggs. Some aphids carry a bacteria called Hamiltonella defensa which then sickens the wasp larva and prevents the eggs from developing.

A researcher at the University of Georgia has finally figured out why wasps lay multiple eggs. The wasps can tell the difference between the aphids who carry the bacteria and the aphids who don’t. When the aphids are defenseless, the wasps lay only one egg. When the aphids carry the bacteria, the wasps lay multiple eggs.

I don’t know how much you’ve looked at parasitic wasps. I find them endlessly fascinating, in a macabre way. It’s nice that the aphids are fighting back in their vegetarian aphid manner.

Enjoy your Wen-sday everyone!