Industry Updates: Agriculture, Biotechnology and Entomology Collide

Biotechnology may be used to replace agrochemicals in the near future to make farming more sustainable. Agrochemicals include fertilizers, pesticides, and soil conditioners. While these methods are widely used to kill insects and preserve crops, their damage to the environment has called for concern in recent years. The European Union has become an advocate for lowering the use of harmful pesticides by announcing its plan to reduce its use by 50% by 2030. 

Plausible alternatives that are being discussed by scientists across the world are protein biocontrols, pheromones, and soil bacteria. These will help to effectively grow crops without causing harm to the earth. Biotechnology is continuing to demonstrate its effectiveness in a variety of industries. With the push for more sustainable practices continuing worldwide, the discussion of biotechnology as a substitute for chemicals has only just begun. 

A UCLA professor is using nanoscience to develop the first treatment for a deadly sleeping sickness that is transmitted to humans through African tsetse flies. 

Despite being stuck at home during quarantine, Lisa Gonzalez and Brian Brown were able to discover 9 new insect species.

Hummingbirds are being praised in Danville for their contribution towards reducing the mosquito population, demonstrating nature’s own alternative to insecticide. 

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