Birth control for male cockroaches.The next time a male cockroach cockroach or roach, name applied to approximately 3,500 species of flat-bodied, oval insects forming the order Blattodea. Cockroaches have long antennae, long legs adapted to running, and a flat extension of the upper body wall that conceals the checks into a roach motel it might be surprised to find family-planning services included. In what may be the first step toward developing cockroach birth control, Cornell University entomologists The following is a list of entomologists, people who have studied insects. Name Born Died Country Speciality John Abbot 1751 1840 United States Zhimou Wen and Jeffrey G. Scott identified several genes for a family of enzymes, called P450 proteins, that German cockroaches cockroaches insects which may carry Salmonella spp. in their gut and play a part in the spread of the disease. use to break down insecticides and other toxic compounds. The researchers found one of the P450 proteins in the reproductive system of male cockroaches, Wen announced. The researchers don't yet know what the protein does. The new P450 could regulate hormone levels in the male cockroach, says Scott. Or, if the male passes the enzyme along with its sperm, it might help protect newly fertilized fer·til·ize v. fer·til·ized, fer·til·iz·ing, fer·til·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause the fertilization of (an ovum, for example). 2. eggs by breaking down pesticides in the female. Cockroaches that eat bait laced with an inhibitor of the newly discovered protein might be sterilized ster·il·ize tr.v. ster·il·ized, ster·il·iz·ing, ster·il·iz·es 1. To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms. 2. , at least temporarily, Scott says. Cockroach contraceptives are still a long way off, though. "I don't think you'll see this on your store shelves in the next year or two. It's more of a 5- or 10-year thing," Scott says. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion