BBC Learning English
Words in the News
Battle of the bedbugs
15 March 2013
Scientists may be on top in the battle against bedbugs. These insects are one of the
most difficult to control. But research, from the journal Scientific Reports, could help
scientists to develop new, improved control methods. The BBC s Rebecca Morelle
reports:
They feast on our blood while we sleep - leaving itchy, red welts as their calling
card. Bedbugs are an insect that many would like to see the back of. But in North
America, Europe and Australia, infestations are on the rise - and our insecticides
are losing their bite.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky in the US have found 14 genes associated
with resistance to these chemicals. They're causing a number of biological changes in
the bedbugs. These include the development of a thicker skin that stops the poisons
from penetrating and mutations within the insects' bodies that prevent the toxins
from hitting the nervous system.
The genes linked to these changes are active in the insect's tough outer shell -
creating a formidable first line of defence. These findings could help scientists to
develop new insecticides that could either turn these genes off or bypass the pest's
molecular shields.
But until these substances are developed, exterminators are having to resort to
more primitive tactics.
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
itchy unpleasant feeling on the skin that makes you
scratch
welts area of raised skin, red in colour, sometimes
caused by an insect bite
calling card evidence that something has been there
infestations problems where insects are in a place and
causing damage
insecticides chemical substances used for killing insects
penetrating getting inside of
mutations changes in the genes that make it different from
others of its type
toxins poisons
formidable impressive or powerful
exterminators people who kill unwanted pests (such as insects)
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/03/130315_witn_bed_bugs.shtml
Related News story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21778171
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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bbclearningenglish.com