Free Republic

What has four legs, hails from Spain, is notoriously difficult to kill, multiplies by 10 each year, and causes an annual $2.5 billion damage to the economy? If you guessed feral hogs, you are correct. An estimated nine million nomadic pigs currently roam America, destroying crops and properties which lay in their path, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Hogs even cause the occasional fatality - either through a rare bloodthirsty attack on a human or by charging across a highway and triggering a road traffic accident. In the most pig-dense states like Texas, law enforcement officials offer bounties...

“...A bug known as a whitefly received a gene from a plant, and that DNA influx... changed it... The bug has been causing massive damage to tomato, potato, and tobacco crops, as the new gene allowed it to evade protections that plants develop against these pests.... ...As far as we know, ours is the first example of horizontal transfer of a functional gene from plant to animal,”... ...horizontal gene transfer occurs when a species gets genetic code from another species and... incorporates those genes in its DNA. Genes are typically transmitted vertically, from parents to offspring, and don’t involve inter-species...

Baltimore’s Rats Are in the Spotlight Posted on: February 7, 2018 Baltimore has been seen on television and the silver screen for decades, from The Wire to Hairspray. The latest movie putting Baltimore in the spotlight isn’t about crime, it’s all about Baltimore’s rat problem.The Film’s Inspiration Theo Anthony, a Baltimore filmmaker, found his inspiration in an unlikely place—his trash can. One night he arrived home to loud sounds in his trash can and found a rat trying to jump out without much success. He never planned to have his first film center around the city’s most well-known pests,...

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Calif. (KGO) -- A rare pest was recently discovered at SFO in a shipment of fresh basil from Mexico. The pest is often referred to as a type of stink bug and poses a major agricultural threat. .. After authorities identified the pest, the entire shipment was refused entry and ordered to be exported from the United States. ...

Cats love catnip. Mosquitoes? Not so much. According to Science Daily, catnip repels mosquitoes more effectively than DEET. Grow it in your garden or apply undiluted catnip oil to the skin for up to two hours of protection.

.........Hotels contacted by The Washington Times about bedbug reports either referred calls to their corporate headquarters or didn’t return messages. Charlotte has a long way to go before its bedbug levels approach cities such as New York, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C., where recent infestations have made national news, but a study this year by pest control company Orkin shows activity there has been on the rise. The survey, released in March, rated Charlotte as having the 33rd-most bedbug reports of any city in 2011. The list was topped by Cincinnati, Chicago and Detroit. By contrast, the GOP’s choice for its...

Just as students head back to college and families finish summer vacations comes the latest bad news from pest control companies: Bedbug infestations are getting worse and becoming more common in some places, including dorms, hotels, nursing homes, hospitals, office buildings, and schools and day-care centers. According to a survey released Wednesday by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, pest control companies say there has been double-digit growth in infestations in the past year. About 54 percent of pest companies reported treating bedbugs in college dorms, compared with 35 percent in 2010; 80 percent reported treating...

For the losing side: How to handle the post-election hangoverBy Stephanie Chen, CNN November 3, 2010 4:57 p.m. EDT (CNN) -- For weeks -- even months -- you may have been caught up in the election frenzy. You've been jazzed about a candidate or a cause. Perhaps you've volunteered for a campaign or proudly planted a sign in your yard. The results are announced and the winners start celebrating their campaign victory, but for the losers, an election loss can easily turn personal. CNN spoke to Dr. Ivan Walks, a public health physician and psychiatrist who has studied stress for...

Overcoming post-election stress traumaWednesday, 02 June 2010 12:00 AM Ma. Andrea S. Tirazona When the early results of the recently concluded elections started trickling in, I felt a rush of excitement as I saw the numbers tipping in Noynoy’s direction. On the other hand, I was shocked at Binay’s early lead. Before anything else, let me point out that this is not an article as to whether or not Noynoy was the right choice for president, nor is this a debate as to whether or not the election was a clean and honest one. This is about seeing things from...

The White House announced today that President Obama will deliver a "major speech" (yes, another one) on the country's current financial situation next Monday, September 14, at Federal Hall in New York--coincidentally, the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The White House says the president will "discuss the aggressive steps the administration has taken to bring the economy back from the brink, the commitment to winding down the government's role in the financial sector and the actions the United States and the global community must take to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again." I'm beginning...

The remains of a burnt beetle found in a grain of wheat about 3,500 years old provided a group of researchers from Bar-Ilan University with a key to a question the Bible left without a definite answer: How did Joseph the Dreamer, who became the viceroy to the king of Egypt, succeed in preserving the grain during the seven lean years and prevent Egypt's population from starving? According to the description in the book of Genesis, during the seven years of plenty in Egypt, Joseph had all the wheat collected in silos. "And he gathered up all the food of...

In an interview with 1200 WOAI news during his swing through Texas, longshot Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee outlined a strategy which has him not winning the GOP nomination outright, but pushing the nomination to the September Republican National Convention, which he says will turn to him as the most ‘conservative alternative.’

Hmm, this is interesting. According to prominent former Microsoftie Robert Scoble, Microsoft's current plan is to make the Windows Vista startup sound a) unchangeable and b) unmutable. The reason for "a" is branding. Having a unified startup sound on all Vista PCs serves Microsoft well, and Microsoft's Steve Ball says users will benefit....

UPPER TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee is trying to determine whether mountain-lion sightings in the area are fact or phantom. Mayor Richard Palombo this week publicly urged residents who have seen a large cat — maybe a mountain lion or a big bobcat — to notify the township's animal-control officer. “At this point, we're making everyone alert about it. The animal-control officer is looking at it if anyone sees an animal,” the mayor said. Liam Hughes, who handles animal control in parts of Atlantic and Cape May counties, said there are no confirmed lion sightings. Nor could anyone find scat...

Anybody watching this love-fest?

Boy, I sure hope this ends up in General/Chat and not in Breaking News! We are new homeowners and need some advice on eliminating insect infestations on several (about a dozen) fruit trees, mostly apple and pie cherry. The insects in question are black, about the shape of ladybugs but smaller and with white markings. They are prolific - I killed two in the process of mating. Anyone have any experience in this area? Any advice would be very much appreciated!

A worker at a Downtown steam plant who brought a pellet rifle to work to shoot pigeons was mistaken for a sniper Wednesday afternoon, prompting police to shut down part of the city for about two hours. Richard Wills, of Dawson, Fayette County, a maintenance worker in the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal building, brought the weapon to work to chase pigeons away from broken windows on the building's roof, said PACT President Robert Fazio. Someone apparently spotted him - and his rifle - when he stepped out onto the roof for a few seconds, Fazio said. At least three witnesses...

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Republican national chairman this week suggested Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is too "angry" to win the White House in 2008. And to hear Republicans tell it, Mrs. Clinton is just one of many Democrats with an anger-management problem. Former Vice President Al Gore is angry. So is Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. The party is held hostage by the "angry left." In recent months, Republican operatives and officeholders have cast the Democrats as the anger party, long on emotion and short on ideas. Analysts say the strategy has been effective, painting Democrats' differences with the...

A 41-year-old peace activist who says she wanted to inspect a United States warship for weapons of mass destruction has been charged with trespassing. Margaret Pestorius, from the activist group Peace by Peace, said she and four other people went at 8.30am (AEST) yesterday to a restricted area of Trinity Wharf at Cairns, in north Queensland, where the frigate the USS Ingraham was berthed. "We were hoping to inspect it," Ms Pestorius said today. "We wanted to know what weapons were on board the ship, where the ship has been and what operations the ship is involved in." Ms Pestorius...

Germany is stepping up its battle against 'Nazi' racoons after they ruined much of this year's wine harvest. The racoons were released into the German countryside in 1934 under the orders of Hermann Goering. Goering thought they would "enrich" the local wildlife - but they have spread throughout Central Europe, from the Low Countries to the Urals, according to conservationists. The nocturnal mammals have become a health hazard in many cities, where they rummage through garbage bins and invade homeowners' attics and cellars. Now, they are becoming a threat to agriculture as well, according to farmers. "Racoons wiped out almost...