here.4US ban on openly gay military personnel suspendedA US judge has ordered a nationwide

Bumblebees prefer stripes and red flowers, research suggests
Virginia Phillips last month ruled the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional.Under the policy, gay people can serve in the military but face expulsion if their sexuality is discovered.Continue reading the main story Related storiesGay air force nurse is reinstatedSenate blocks gay policy debatePresident Barack Obama and some military leaders have called for it to be overturned. A legislative attempt to do so failed in the Senate last month.The US Department of Justice has 60 days to appeal but may opt not to do so.Last month the ban was also ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in Washington state. A judge there ordered the US Air Force to reinstate a nurse sacked under the policy.Continue reading the main story AnalysisDavid Willis BBC News, California --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The judge's ruling means that any proceedings under way involving active US service members anywhere in the world must be discontinued, and anyone who was about to be discharged from the service because of "don't ask, don't tell" will earn a reprieve.Her decision pre-empts the outcome of an ongoing Pentagon inquiry into the effect of repealing the policy.That report isn't due out until December, and although Mr Obama had said he would like to see an end to the ban, he is also of the opinion that it should be Congress - and not the courts - which determines military policy.The dilemma now is that by maintaining that stance and potentially appealing against the judge's decision, Mr Obama's Democratic Party risks alienating the strong support it enjoys from gay rights activists in the run-up to next month's crucial mid-term elections.Meanwhile, the Pentagon has been studying how gay people can be integrated into the US military and is to report on its findings later this year.Under the policy, established in 1993 under former President Bill Clinton, the US military is forbidden to inquire about service members' sexual orientation, but can expel people discovered to be homosexual.The lawsuit was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay Republican group, on behalf of openly gay military personnel who had been discharged under the policy.Supporters of the ban say allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military would lower troop morale and hinder military readiness.Judge Phillips declared the policy unconstitutional after a brief trial last month.Government attorneys objected to an immediate, nationwide injunction, arguing it might harm military operations during wartime
Stripes direct bees to the flower entrance Gardeners are being encouraged to grow striped flowers to encourage bumblebee populations, after research suggested the insects are most attracted to them. Stripes on petal veins direct bumblebees to the flower's "central landing platform" and entrance to gather nectar and pollen.Researchers also found that red flowers were also attractive to bees.Bees play a key role in agriculture by pollinating crops.
The scientists say that growing especially inviting plants could be a way for people to help stem what has been called a "catastrophic" decline in UK bumblebee populations.Stripes and spots The research was to understand how pollinator decline can been halted, as a reduction in numbers can be "economically damaging and risks our food security", scientists say.Professor Cathie
Martin from John Innes Centre in Norwich said red and striped flowers were visited significantly more frequently than white or pink blooms. More flowers were visited per plant as well, she said.Researchers from New Zealand also analysed how the stripy patterns were formed along the veins of the common snapdragon. "Complex colour patterns such as spots and stripes are common in nature but the way they are formed is poorly understood," said Dr Kathy Schwinn of the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research. "We found that one sign