Using genetic engineering techniques, a team of Australian researchers has created plant cells which produce a virus that kills a costly agricultural pest, Helicoverpa armigera, the cotton bollworm. H. armigera larvae infected with the plant-produced virus can not continue eating and eventually die, reports Terry Hanzlik, an Australian research scientist. To the dismay of farmers worldwide, H. armigera and its close biological cousins are becoming increasingly resistant to chemical ...