Cockroaches are often linked with dirty kitchens and filthy bathrooms, those insects that scuttle away as soon as you enter the room and turn the lights on. Pest controllers however aren't the only people interested in them. These insects are encouraging research into antibiotics, robots and mechanical limbs, according to Mary Colwell.
In Havana, the native bright green Cuban cockroach is usually kept as a pet and even appears in old folktales. In one story, Martina, a beautiful young Cuban cockroach tests her suitors by annoying them whenever they come to visit. She drops coffee on their shoes to see their reaction; this was recommended by her wise grandma.
According to her grandma, always imperative to know what your future husband is like when he is angry and the coffee test never disappoints. When her rich suitors' shoes got soak with coffee, their true colors showed. Finally, a kind and gentle but poor hopeful passed the test, and the couple lived happily ever after.
The words smart and attractive are not often connected with these creatures, but their bad reputation is not always explained. Of the 4,500 known species of cockroaches, only four are considered pests. Most don't live near human homes and they take part in a vital ecological role which is eating dead and decaying matter.
In June students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University showed how they could control cockroaches with their minds. Translating human brain waves into electrical impulses, they assisted a cockroach attached to a receiver down different shaped tunnels simply by thinking about it.
There is cockroach-related research in medicine as well. Scientists have always wondered how roaches can spend their lives in dirty environments without getting sick and it turns out they produce their own powerful antibiotics. So they believe that these insects might hold the answer to developing drugs that would knock out the most virulent bacteria that affect human health, such as E. coli, MRSA and other superbugs resistant to many existing treatments.
