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US set to unleash genetically engineered insect
US government scientists hope to begin experiments involving genetically engineered moths this summer.
The field trials, which will take place in screened cages on Agriculture Department-owned land in Phoenix, will involve moths containing a jellyfish gene.
Researchers hope the tests will ultimately lead to the eradication of a major pest to cotton farmers.
The scientists have used the jellyfish gene because it gives the moth larvae a fluorescence that allows them to monitor their behaviour more closely.
If the experiment goes as planned, scientists are ready with their next step - a biotech version of the pink bollworm moth that is sterile, but sexually active.
They hope it will mate with wild relatives. No offspring would be produced and numbers of the pest would decline.
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-- . (.@...), March 09, 2001
OHMI GOD.........OHMIGOD......IT'S MOTHRA-RUN-RUN FOR THE HILLS- AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), March 09, 2001.