Pesticide laced with scorpions venom

31 July 1997

Pesticide laced with scorpions venom

SCIENTISTS at the Institure of Virology & Environmental Microbiology in Oxford are experimenting with a pesticide incorporating a gene responsible for scorpions venom.

The aim of the research is to engineer a more potent pesticide.

The gene is known as autographa californica nuclear hydrosis virus and it is has already been established that it is agent of pest control. The scientists are assessing its environmental impact.