Scientists seek solution to the big snail mystery
0 Comments | Express & Echo; Exeter (UK), Jul 27, 2010
A SCIENTIST from the University of Exeter is helping to solve one of the great gardening mysteries — do snails have sat nav? Dr Dave Hodgson, from the School of Biosciences, is working with amateur scientist Ruth Brooks to find out if the creatures have a homing instinct.
They are running a huge national experiment, hoping people all over the country will offer to take part.
Snails are ferocious herbivores and can wreak havoc in gardens, munching their way through prize produce and causing a great deal of damage.
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This leads some greenfingered enthusiasts to resort to any means to keep them at bay.
Many try humanely to deal with the problem by collecting the snails and moving them to another area, but some believe they simply return to the same spot.
Ms Brooks put this point forward to BBC Radio 4′s Material World programme.
Her question was one of four picked to become a full-blown science research project from more than 1,000 entries.
Dr Hodgson, from the university’s Cornwall campus, has been drafted in to be her mentor. He said: “This is a fantastic project because this is a real issue for gardeners all over the country — how do you stop snails from eating everything you grow? “Ruth’s question could help find a humane way of dealing with that.
“My job is to help oversee the science and it’s been great so far because we’re getting lots of people involved and showing them how the scientific process works.
“It’s not all about lab coats and maths, it can be much more accessible and fun.”
The next big step in the project is to hold the “Great Snail Swap” experiment, which aims to get people all over the UK taking part.
Visit www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/snails to find out more