Is the insect kingdom about to have its own sexual revolution? Reuters reports that bug-studying scientists in Austria have discovered a molecular receptor, or switch, which controls certain post-mating behaviors, including egg-laying. If a chemical means to block it could be found, it would essentially serve as a "birth control pill", because female insects would continue to engage in sex but wouldn't lay eggs or produce offspring. Such a method of reducing the insect population and hence insect-borne disease would be more effective and less harmful to the environment than the use of poisonous pesticides. It's also expected to be a far more practical solution than trying to encourage mosquito abstinence through education, as is currently the practice in some US states.
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