Thursday, November 13, 2014


Nanotechnology Could Make Barbecues at the Jersey Shore More Relaxing



     A patent for technology that uses nanoparticles to interfere with the genetic code of mosquitos and possibly other pests. Researchers at Kansas State University have received a patent for "Double-Stranded RNA-Based Nanoparticles for Insect Gene Silencing." (US Patent 8,841,272).  Potentially this discovery could target a specific organism to interfere with their genetic code essentially killing the specific pest without harm to others.  Current pest control measures can possibly contain toxic chemicals that could cause harm to other living things and not just the intended target .  Dr. Kun Yah Zhu describes the process used in the article by creating a specifically designed dsRNA that would be ingested by the pest creating a chain reaction that would destroy the messanger RNA.  
The process is called RNA interference or RNAi.


    When fully developed, this research has numerous possibilities under the current design.  It would reduce the amount of harmful chemicals used around the home and in the yard.  It would create a safer and pest free environment for children and pets  Think of the applications it could have in farming and live stock.  No more harmful pesticides in the produce or livestock feed.  I personally wonder if this could delete an entire species of pest all together.  Could this be the breakthrough we have been looking for to make organic and healthy foods more affordable to everyone?  The article does not talk about estimated costs to produce the product for commercial and private use.  Anyone who has hosted or attended a barbecue in the summer at the jersey shore knows a product like this will be almost as loved as the jersey corn on their plate.



http://phys.org/news/2014-11-patent-awarded-genetics-based-nanotechnology-mosquitoes.html
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v25/n11/full/nbt1107-1231.html

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