An international team of scientists led by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researcher Joanne Yew may have discovered a recent and effective way to control insect pests that are a threat to agriculture and humans. Yew and her team identified a gene in vinegar flies responsible for the insect's waterproof coating, which provides them protection from microbes and environmental stress. They nicknamed the gene spidey and announced the findings in a recently published study in PLOS Genetics.
Source: phys.org