Watercooler Stories

Science project IDs unfamiliar cockroach

NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Some New York high school students testing DNA samples say they may have discovered a previously unknown subspecies of cockroach.

Seniors Brenda Tan and Matt Cost of Trinity School collected more than 200 samples of food and other biological material -- including hair from eight schoolmates -- for DNA testing, National Public Radio reported.

The students were able to conclude a sample labeled sheep's milk was actually cow's milk and what was supposed to have been dried shark meat turned out to be Nile perch, the report said.

When they tested DNA of a cockroach taken from an Upper West Side apartment, the students determined the specimen was about 4 percent different from that of roaches listed in DNA reference work they used for the project. That compares with a typical difference of 1 percent of less among most species, Tan said.

"We're still looking for a cockroach specialist" to say one way or the other whether the finding suggests the cockroach in their project is a new kind of roach, she said.

The American Museum of Natural History and Rockefeller University in New York provided assistance for Tan and Cost, NPR said.

Fence keeps newts safe during rail work

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Scottish environmental groups are applauding railway officials for including artificial animal dens and a "newt fence" as part of a $480 million project.

Vivienne Gray, Scottish Natural Heritage's area officer for West Lothian, praised Network Rail for including artificial badger setts, otter holts and the special fence designed to keep newts out of danger as part of the new Airdrie-to-Bathgate line, which will be used by trains traveling between the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Daily News reported.

"Having recently been along the length of the construction site, I am happy that the collaborative working between ourselves and Network Rail has paid off," Gray said. "Protected species are being managed effectively and natural habitats are being preserved. With an independent monitoring officer being appointed to monitor the work, Network Rail is giving the right level of priority to these issues."

The railway company won praise for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for collaborating with the environmental groups to conduct a full Environmental Impact Assessment and create a Landscape and Habitat Management Plan.

Study: Italian under-40s staying at home

ROME, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Italy's national statistics bureau said its latest study suggests nearly half of the country's under-40 population still live at home with their parents.

The bureau, Istat, said data collected from Italian citizens between 2003 and 2007 suggests more than 48 percent of Italians ages 18 to 39 share homes with their parents, the ANSA news agency reported.

Officials said the study contains evidence that can be construed as supporting the stereotype of the Italian mammone, or "mamma's boy," with 53 percent of men in the age group living with parents, compared to 42 percent of women.

"The prolonged co-habitation of children with their parents is among the chief problems facing the nation," Istat officials said in a release tying the findings to nationwide problems including low birthrates and economic woes.

Brothel wants males to service women

TONOPAH, Nev., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A Nevada brothel owner said she is hoping to begin offering male prostitutes for female clients by the middle of January.

Bobbi Davis, owner of the Shady Lady Ranch brothel in Nye County, said the Nevada State Health Division agreed this month to write men into the state codes governing prostitution and she is scheduled to meet Jan. 5 with the Nye County Commission for final approval, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Davis said, if all goes as planned, she could add two men to her current stable of five female prostitutes the week after the meeting with the commission.

Several experts, including industry lobbyist George Flint, have already predicted failure for Davis' venture. Flint said several brothel owners have attempted hiring men to service women in the past, but the gambles always failed, in large part due to the amount of time the few female customers wanted to spend with their sex workers before intercourse.

"Women won't come in for a quickie. They're not jackrabbits like men are," Flint said. "There is just nothing about it, fiscally or any other way, that makes any kind of sense."

However, Flint and other experts said male prostitutes in brothels could potentially succeed if they catered to gay clients. Davis said it will be up to the workers to decide whether to take same-sex jobs.