Scientists in Britain say they have developed a way of genetically modifying and controlling an invasive species of moth that causes serious pest damage to cabbages, kale, canola and other similar crops worldwide.
In what they said could be a pesticide-free and environmentally-friendly way to control insect pests, the scientists, from the Oxford University spinout company Oxitec, developed diamondback moths with a "self-limiting gene" that dramatically reduced populations in greenhouse trials.
The self-limiting gene technique has already been tested against dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes, cutting their populations by over 90 percent in trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands.