Creepy Crawlers

AHHHH, Bedbugs!; The little creepy crawlers that have gradually infested homes, schools, buildings, hotels and cities throughout the country. Although their origin is unknown , what is known is that one single mated female can infest an entire building. On December 7, 2011, Martin Enserink published an article in Science Magazine, titled “Sex and Travel, Bedbug Style”. Over the past decade, the annoying critters were imported from overseas on multiple occasions. At a local meeting, Coby Schal of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, presented his findings and conclusions on this new infestation. His team sampled 22 bedbug populations from nine states along the U.S. East Coast and examined nine so-called microsatellites, highly variable pieces of DNA that are particularly helpful in understanding genetic differences between populations. Their research shows that bedbugs from different places were genetically very distinct, which suggests very diverse origins. Once they're settled, the bugs seem to hop easily from one apartment to the next. Like everything else, the hype on bedbugs will one day vanish, just like swine flu. Its 2012, today it is bedbugs, in 10 years it will be something else.



[caption id="attachment_4036" align="aligncenter" width="386" caption="Head Scratcher. The origin of bedbugs have been debated for years."][/caption]