Plastic waste ‘sexually exciting’ crabs

And other stories from the stranger side of life

A crab

Plastic waste in the oceans is releasing an additive that may be “sexually exciting” hermit crabs, according to a new study. The team from University of Hull found that waters off the North Yorkshire coast contain a chemical called oleamide leaking from plastics, which is increasing the respiration rate among the hermit crab population. They said that “Love Island fever has gripped the nation in recent weeks” but this is “a very different type of attraction”.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.