HOW do you like your oysters? Ships like theirs microwaved.
Because ships are designed to be loaded down, ballast water is used to keep them stable if they leave port without much cargo. This can contain invasive species like oysters and zebra mussels, which are dumped at the other end along with the ballast, wreaking havoc on local ecosystems.
Several methods have been proposed to kill off stowaways, including UV irradiation and chemical treatment. Now Dorin Boldor and colleagues at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge have devised a cheaper, more environmentally friendly method. The team used a microwave tube…
