Plants can Lure Bug Bodyguards

This is great news for farmers, consumers, birds and the environment in general. Apparently most plants have the ability to produce compounds which attract insects that feed on insects that are attacking the plants. One example would be roses attracting ladybugs that would come and eat the aphids.

As scientists do more and more genetic sequencing, they are learning which genes do what. So now they have introduced the gene into plant A from plant B that enables plant A to produce these compounds in a significant quanitity and protect itself from the insects that are eating it. The applications of this are enormous. If we can genetically modify plants to protect themselves from bugs, we stop spraying chemicals/pesticides to do the same thing. This protects the environment, saves the farmer time and money and helps to protect birds and other creatures that eat on insects.