Here is yet another installment in the series on incremental change in science and technology. As ever, check out data on the improving state of the world at www.humanprogress.org.
Prawn Sex-Change Boosts Yields
Male prawns grow faster and get to be 60% larger than female prawns. As such, they are more economically valuable. By slicing the prawn genome, scientists from the Ben Gurion University found, it is possible to generate all-male populations of prawns. In trials, female prawns were injected with a molecule that silenced certain genes thus allowing for all-male prawn yields. This method eliminates the need for chemicals or hormones, which have been used to increase prawn yields in the past. The breakthrough in prawn yields could also be used in the fight against bilharzia in Africa. Bilharzia is carried by snails and prawns are snails’ natural predators. By increasing prawn yields, snail populationscould be controlled more easily.