While most of us are creeped out by crawling cockroaches, hiding away in dark corners and content to survive nuclear disasters, they’re fast becoming man’s best friend – at least in cases of emergency.
Coming up on today’s Moncrieff, Sean will be chatting to Prof Hong Liang, an academic based in Texas, who led a research team in cockroach robotics – which has cracked the code of turning the creatures into cyborgs by grafting micro-processors to their backs.
And one day it might just save your life.
To get the whole story, tune in live to Moncrieff at 2.40pm: www.newstalk.com/player/
The cyborg roaches are not just the only insects being used by science to improve the lives of mankind; in the past decade, mosquitoes have been genetically modified to stop the spread of malaria, while bees have been trained to sniff out bombs or drugs in airports.
And now you can add protein bars to the list.
A new Kickstarter campaign is hoping to launch a new brand of health-conscious energy bars – with the principal ingredient being crushed crickets. Crobar hasn’t made the decision to fill their pestle and mortars with the jumping insects for reasons of taste, rather the fact that they are a healthy and lean source of protein – one which also reduces your carbon footprint with every chew.
Crickets are a staple part of the diet in many Asian countries, and the UN is pushing for the global community to start cultivating protein-rich bugs in an effort to reduce climate change.
While, as yet, Western palettes have yet to become accustomed to the taste of crunching a cricket in your mouth, Crobar has made every effort to make it a bit more agreeable; before being crushed, the live crickets are fed a diet of fruit and vegetables, which allegedly lends them a more nutty flavour. The powdered insects are then mix with real nuts and cocoa, according to the video below:
With almost a month remaining, the Crobar campaign has almost reached the 40 percent mark in its quest to raise $10,000 – with the hope of launching the cricket-infused bars next month.
