Hormone therapy for fruit flies means better pest control
Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 11:32
in Biology & Nature
Released en masse, sterile Mexican fruit flies can undermine a wild population of the fruit-damaging pests so that fewer applications of insecticide are needed. But the irradiation used to sterilize the flies weakens them, hindering their ability to outcompete wild-type males for female mates. Now, scientists have devised a hormone therapy for making sterile flies "more macho," improving their chances of mating with female flies before their wild rivals do.