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Safe, Specific Insecticide

A postdoctoral researcher at Victoria University is investigating the development of a safe, species-specific insecticide using biologically active carbohydrates. The compounds kill insects by inhibiting their growth.

"It's not as poisonous as something like DDT and should be more specific, killing the target insect but not damaging the environment," says Dr Ann-Karin Tidén. Her project is being run as a one-year fellowship jointly funded by the university and DSIR Chemistry.