By following the “nose” of fruit flies, scientists are on the trail of new insect repellents that may reduce the spread of infectious disease and damage to agricultural crops. That’s because they’ve learned for the first time how a group of genes used to differentiate smells is turned on and off, opening new possibilities for insect control. Researchers can target these or similar genes in other insects to create substances that make crops and people “invisible” to insect antennae. Without the ability to smell correctly, the insects are far less likely to attack a person or plant, as is the case with mosquitoes whose ability to smell lactic acid is disrupted by the active ingredient in insect repellents, DEET.
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Researchers have identified a gene that acts as a master switch to control obesity in mice. When the gene is deleted, even high-fat-diet mice remain thin. Deleting the gene, called ‘IKKE’, also appears to protect mice against conditions that, in humans, lead to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and is on the rise among North Americans, including children and adolescents.
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Results of the first human clinical studies confirm that a new yogurt fights the bacteria that cause gastritis and stomach ulcers with what researchers describe as almost vaccine-like effects. The new yogurt is part of a growing “functional food” market that generates $60 billion in sales annually. The yogurt is currently on store shelves in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The new study opens the door to possible arrival of the product in Canada and the US, say researchers.
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“The dramatic rise of China and India presents one of the gravest threats and greatest opportunities facing the world today,” says the Worldwatch Institute in its State of the World report. The choices these countries make in the next few years will lead the world either towards a future beset by growing ecological and political instability, or down a development path based on efficient technologies and better stewardship of resources.
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Biologists have now created baker’s yeast capable of living to the age of 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects. The basic but important discovery, achieved through a combination of dietary and genetic changes, brings science closer to controlling the survival and health of the unit of all living systems: the cell. “We’re setting the foundation for reprogramming healthy life,” said one scientist.
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