Two links for you today:

1. Have you ever wondered how they get grapes to grow so big these days? NPR explains how farmers use a technique called girdling to force the plant to grow larger fruit. This technique along with the use of gibberellic acid, which acts as a kind of growth hormone for the plant, is the reason why the size of grapes in the supermarket is ever increasing. Check it out.

2. And now more on the topic of bees and flowers. Flowering plants use caffeine to lure bees. The New York Times reports on a study showing that flower nectar contains caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant, and the flower uses it as a kind of reward in an operant conditioning mechanism. The bee gets rewarded with this stimulant drug after pollinating the flower. Having linked the reward to the smell and taste of the flower nectar, the bee searches out more of the flower. The study shows that caffeine helps increase the bee’s memory of the flower’s odor. Have a look!