Instead of using pesticides, painting cows with zebra-like stripes led to 50% reduction in the number of biting flies. As a result, cows painted with white stripes showed 20% reduction in fly-repelling behaviour. Painting cows with zebra-like stripes may be a simple strategy to keep biting flies at bay. There was over 50% reduction in … Continue reading Painting cows with zebra stripes cuts insect attacks
Pesticide
inStem’s skin gel may protect farmers from toxic pesticides
A team led by inStem researchers has developed a gel for topical application to prevent organophosphate-based pesticides from causing any adverse effects including death. The gel hydrolyses ester found in pesticides into acid thereby making the pesticides inactive and harmless. When applied on rat skin, protection lasted for four days at a stretch. Trials on … Continue reading inStem’s skin gel may protect farmers from toxic pesticides
A simple way to detect organophosphoporus pesticides in tomatoes, apples
Researchers from Jadavpur University and Visva-Bharati University have synthesised a MOF that is capable of detecting organophosphoporus pesticides both in water solution and in apples and tomatoes. The MOF is highly sensitive and is capable of detecting the pesticides even if present in ppb concentration. Using metal-organic framework (MOF) made of cadmium chloride and synthesised … Continue reading A simple way to detect organophosphoporus pesticides in tomatoes, apples
UoH team makes harpin biopesticide more potent by increasing its bioavailability
University of Hyderabad researchers encapsulated harpin biopesticide in chitosan nanoparticles and achieved 80-90% reduction in severity of fungal infection in tomato plants. The chitosan nanoparticles containing harpin pass through the cell wall and end up in the chloroplast of tomato plants thereby improving bioavailability. Tomato plants and R. solani fungal infection were only used as a model system. … Continue reading UoH team makes harpin biopesticide more potent by increasing its bioavailability
Bacteria isolated from domestic sewage remove organophosphorus pesticide
Researchers have used three bacteria species isolated from domestic sewage to remove chloropyrifos, an organophosphorous pesticide, from water and soil samples. The bacteria absorb the pesticide without leaving behind any toxic metabolites. While the bacteria species, both individually and as mixed culture, removed 90% of the pesticide from water samples, about 50% of the pesticide … Continue reading Bacteria isolated from domestic sewage remove organophosphorus pesticide
Tamil Nadu researchers show chronic exposure to commonly used insecticide causes diabetes
A study by scientists at Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India, has found evidence that long-term exposure to organophosphate insecticides induces diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in both mice and humans. The researchers found that organophosphates-induced diabetes was mediated by gut bacteria. The results were published in the journal Genome Biology. A survey of around … Continue reading Tamil Nadu researchers show chronic exposure to commonly used insecticide causes diabetes
IISc researchers find endosulfan causes DNA damage in animals
For the first time, researchers in India have found that mice and rats exposed to endosulphan suffer from DNA damage and genomic instability, and impaired DNA damage response. The results published on August 4 in the journal, Carcinogenesis, by a team of researchers led by Prof. Sathees Raghavan from the Department of Biochemistry, IISc, Bengaluru … Continue reading IISc researchers find endosulfan causes DNA damage in animals
IISc: endosulfan induces infertility in male mice
If an association between the widely used pesticide, endosulfan and male infertility has been found in the case of humans living in areas where it has been extensively used, laboratory studies on mice have now confirmed that the pesticide indeed causes male infertility. A significant reduction in sperm count and sperm motility in mice was … Continue reading IISc: endosulfan induces infertility in male mice
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