Fear vandals, not vampires
A persecuted creature is good for crops
IN BRAM STOKER'S novel “Dracula”, Lucy Westenra's vampire admirer takes the form of a bat that drinks her blood by night. Alas, Stoker did these reclusive creatures a disservice. There are indeed vampire bats, though they generally prefer cattle blood to that of people. But most of the world's 1,100 species of bats are benign—helpful, even—to humans and especially to farmers.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Fear vandals, not vampires”
From the January 6th 2007 edition
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Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society
His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation
Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions
Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier
Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques
They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes
Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you
A mystery is finally being solved
Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever
Concerns about some of their business models are building
The two types of human laugh
One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else