Laura Kraft – Athens Science Observer https://athensscienceobserver.com A Closer Look at the Science Around Us Sat, 12 May 2018 23:48:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i1.wp.com/athensscienceobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cropped-eye512.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Laura Kraft – Athens Science Observer https://athensscienceobserver.com 32 32 94425623 The Sweet, Sweet Taste of Ripening https://athensscienceobserver.com/2016/08/01/the-sweet-sweet-taste-of-ripening/ Mon, 01 Aug 2016 20:34:07 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=3982 Anyone who knows me knows my love for blueberries.  Besides being a nutrient-packed super fruit, blueberries are also a major agricultural commodity for Georgia. Our state recently beat out Michigan to become number 1 in blueberry production in the nation. Because of this, I decided to take a part time job helping an ongoing study […]

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]]> 3982 Fatal Attraction: Why mosquitoes find us so attractive https://athensscienceobserver.com/2016/05/18/fatal-attraction-why-mosquitoes-find-us-so-attractive/ Wed, 18 May 2016 14:52:54 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=3465 Have you ever walked past a restaurant around lunchtime and found the smell alone was good enough to stop you in your tracks and have you speeding in to buy something to eat? For me, it’s the smell of southern barbecue. At first it’s the smoke billowing out of the kitchen that tickles your nose […]

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]]> 3465 The Life and Lies of Kudzu https://athensscienceobserver.com/2016/03/15/the-life-and-lies-of-kudzu/ Tue, 15 Mar 2016 16:38:33 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=2644 Southerners see it everywhere: green tentacles snaking up the road signs, vines suffocating vast green meadows of trees. The infestation has become a trademark of the south: kudzu. Many Americans grow up hearing that kudzu was imported for erosion control, but the true story is more complex. For the celebration of the hundredth year since the […]

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]]> 2644 Night of the Living Bugs https://athensscienceobserver.com/2015/11/03/night-of-the-living-bugs/ Tue, 03 Nov 2015 16:09:56 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=1763 Pretend for a moment you are a cockroach. Now, I don’t want to go all Kafka on you, but bear with me. You are a beautiful species of cockroach in a tropical region of Africa, just living your daily life, out scrounging for some food when, all of the sudden, a bright turquoise wasp stings […]

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]]> 1763 Time to Rustle Up Some Grub! https://athensscienceobserver.com/2015/09/22/time-to-rustle-up-some-grub/ Tue, 22 Sep 2015 14:00:22 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=1521 So you heard about the health and sustainability benefits of eating insects and want to try entomophagy, huh? I had thought about doing this for years, so I embarked on an adventure to raise mealworms and make recipes from six different continents: Mealworm Tacos, Mealworm Lettuce Wraps, Mealworm-Meat Pie, and Cricket Flour Crepes.  Not included […]

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]]> 1521 Slimy, Yet Satisfying: Eating Insects for the Modern World https://athensscienceobserver.com/2015/09/15/slimy-yet-satisfying-eating-insects-for-the-modern-world/ Tue, 15 Sep 2015 14:57:24 +0000 https://athensscienceobserver.com/?p=1443 In the Disney classic, The Lion King, Simba finds out that Timon and Pumba eat nothing by way of mammalian meat. When he asks what they do eat, they produce a bounty of wriggling beetles and grubs arranged on a leaf. Is this gross, or is it smart-eating? Entomophagy, or eating insects, has cropped up […]

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