The Best New Bugs

Besides re-engineering the mosquito, scientists are tinkering with dozens of insects, fueled by the discovery of so-called “jumping genes” that can slice into DNA’s double helix and insert a “cassette” of foreign genetic material. The newest jumping genes, called “transposons” in the lab, are capable of moving genes between different insect species. Here’s a quick glance at some of the leading transgenic projects:

Medfly: The king of California’s agricultural pests. New wrinkle: U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists are attempting to express a sperm-killing gene in the medfly’s testes. Other research involves introducing a gene that will make the pests less able to withstand cold.

Kissing Bug: Transmits Chagas’ disease, which kills 50,000 people a year in Central America. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are genetically modifying a bacterium that, once ingested by a kissing bug, secretes a poison that kills the microscopic parasite that lives in the bug’s gut and causes the disease.

Orb weaver spiders: Scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in upstate New York have successfully spliced the silk-making gene from the spider into Nigerian dwarf goats. The spider silk is the world’s toughest natural material. If secreted in the goats’ milk, it can be isolated and eventually spun into fibers three times tougher than Kevlar.