If you thought cockroaches could not be more disgusting, a team of scientists conducted an experiment in which he created a super-stem of the hated insect. The cockroach is already capable of surviving a nuclear bomb, and as part of the experiment, its eye color is different.
Fortunately, the project is not designed to release a new plague of insects in the world. Instead, scientists at the University of Kyoto, which is behind the study, examined whether the DNA of the pests could be altered. They injected new cockroaches with new genes, which were passed on to their offspring. In the past, insects have been genetically modified by injecting into the insect’s eggs, and such studies have been successfully performed in mosquitoes and wasps. However, cockroaches protect their eggs, making this impossible in experiments on them.
The researchers in this case, were able to prove that the changes made to the genes of the cockroaches, can be passed on to offspring, and will greatly facilitate genetic engineering in the future. The researchers behind the project said: “With more than two million species described, insects are a variety of treasures and represent endless possibilities as research tools to answer basic questions in biology.”
“The current approaches we have to genetically engineer insects require the injection of materials into eggs in advanced growth stages and this is very challenging in most species. To date, we have invented and streamlined a simple method of genetic insemination by insects by adults, which they pass on easily,” they added. They hope the new technique will be much more useful than before.
An engineered breed of cockroach will be released to the world soon (Photo: Injimage)