Development of Safe Pesticides

In this post, we will share the interesting facts of the scorpion venom and how it is a bioinspiration to the development of safe pesticides.

A Tel Aviv university researcher has found a way to harness the different types of toxins found in scorpion venom to create safe pesticides. This is because it is found that certain toxins in the venom damage only insects, while some only affect certain types of insects.

This has given inspiration to Professor Michael Gurevitz of Tel Aviv University to develop methods of producing the toxins as well as manipulating the levels of toxicity in certain types of animals or insects.

Source : http://www.petlifepharma.com/facilities.html

Using the venom of the Israeli yellow scorpion, known to be among the world’s most poisonous scorpions, genetic methods have been developed to produce these toxins in labs. According to research and experiments, some toxins in scorpion venom can affect insects such as locusts, flies and beetles, yet they are harmless to insects such as honeybees and humans. These toxins are intended to be spread through bacteria to infect the targeted pestilences, potentially providing extreme benefits for the agricultural industry.

Source : http://www.windsorstar.com/travel/photos+life+negev/8842554/story.html

Apparently, Professor Michael only thought about delivering the toxins through bacteria after numerous failed attempts at injecting the toxins into the plants, hoping for the plant to produce the toxins to kill the targeted insects.

Stay tuned for more updates, next up is Microsurgery!