Nematode Germ Warfare: Truth can be stranger than fiction
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- Gaia
- lbondx
- NealC
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» Gaia - Debbie St.Germain Hi Neal, Saw the word Nematode and had
Debbie St.Germain Hi Neal,
Saw the word Nematode and had to check it out. I just finished an article on lyme and had a small piece on the use of nematodes to kill off lyme ticks. I never found any information on how they accomplished this so i enjoyed reading your article. It's still not sure if it will work considering ticks arn't insects but time will tell.
-- posted by Gaia
» lbondx - Neal, This is great! I don't just like physics, I like all scie
Neal,This is great! I don't just like physics, I like all science and this was a real fun article. Since I do organic gardening, as well, this was of interest in terms of insects. I mostly use TLC and paying a lot of attention to defeat the little critters, finding I can leave most of them in place and just take out the real nasty problems when they show up, which is rare it seems, if other factors are kept up to par.
Anyway, I am curious about any concerns or thoughts you might have about working with strains of viruses, etc. and keeping them from "getting loose" ...when I hear about developing new approaches, such as with the toxins you mention, I get a little nervous.
Linda, editor Physics
-- posted by lbondx
» NealC - Debbie, I am not sure it will work either. I don't know for su
Debbie,I am not sure it will work either. I don't know for sure if nematodes will infect ticks.
Linda,
You should be a little nervous. These toxins have to be extensively checked for toxicity to humans and controlled to avoid their expression in the part of the plant we eat. When we mess around with nature it can come back to haunt us.
Neal Chamberlain,
Editor; Microbiology,
Kirksville College of
Osteopathic Medicine
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-- posted by NealC
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