A team of researchers has applied a powerful genetic tool to the fight against the spotted wing fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii).
The destructive, invasive pest deposits its eggs inside of ripening fruit.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Researchers Turn To Gene Drive To Fight Destructive, Invasive Fruit Fly
Zika virus is spreading through a hemisphere with plenty of mosquito habitat and no immunity to the disease, and summer is on its way. But what really chills the blood and drives our dread of what was once considered “dengue’s wimpy cousin” is the virus’s horrifying, yet unproven, link to infant microcephaly.
And so, even as epidemiologists struggle to contain and understand the problem, the news swarms with disturbing images and calls for wiping out the offending mosquito vectors. Clearly, if we’re going to get through this, we need to do our homework. Why not start with my article, in which I cut through the buzz to explore …