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Insecticides Made of RNA Could Offer a Safer and More Targeted Weapon Against Crop Pests (www.science.org)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (1 children)

[Critics] also pointed out that it’s not clear whether the formulation in the spray that keeps the RNA stable is safe because the ingredients are confidential.

I'm love to know how they're doing it. RNA is insanely unstable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

For real though

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So they have a virus that kills the beetle? Why avoid the term virus?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

The virus is just the delivery mechanism.

The RNA is the killer.

Same with some of the covid vaccines. They are delivered via the Adenovirus and it contains DNA instead of RNA which makes the spike protein which is the vaccine.

But I wouldn't say the virus is the vaccine. It's the DNA in it.

The same virus is going to be used to deliver probably hundreds of vaccines in the future.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Do mosquitoes. Then we'll talk.