New research on the molecular mechanisms that allow some individual insects to survive while their cohorts are killed may pave the way to eliminate pesticide resistance in insects that consume wheat and other small grain crops.
A major class of pesticides, organophosphates, work by interfering with nervous system function by interrupting the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Some individual insects can survive through an application of the pesticide.
\There are millions of individuals of an insect pest species in a field. Some individual may have certain genes that can confer resistance. Insects without such mechanisms will be killed by an insecticide. Those with the mechanisms survive and reproduce,"" said Kun Yan Zhu, assistant professor of entomology at Kansas State University.
Resistant insects produce more AChE than suseptable insects, making them up to 13 times less sensitive to the effects of organophosphates.
""If we know the mechanism of resistance, we are in a better position to develop strategies to deal with resistance in insects,"" Zhu said.
A new type of analog processor that is compact and performs extremely fast computations for image processing could possibly lead to the creation of an artificial eye. This eye has the potential to replace damaged human retinas, offering sight to the blind if the chip works as planned.
The cellular nonlinear network analog computer chip is integrated with a camera to produce an image processor. The innovation is the one square-centimeter CNN chip, which increases processing speed while reducing the power requirements of standard digital chips.
The retina application of the CNN chip is the work of three scientists funded by the Office of Naval Research. The scientists, who were developing nonlinear circuit theories, realized their chip mimicked the functions of the retina.
""This could be the basis for the creation of a real artificial eye that works just like a retina,"" said Dr. Larry Cooper, ONR program manager for the CNN project. ""The CNN chip is small and fast and has programmable capability.\
