• BROOKINGS, S.D. - Every year, the fate of the entomological world is discussed by nearly 3,000 entomologists at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America.
• This year the event was held in Knoxville, Tenn. Often, a hot topic is clearly identifiable from this meeting. This year is no exception, says Jonathan Lundgren, Research Entomologist with the USDA-ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory (NCARL) in Brookings. Lundgren says the major theme of the meeting was nothing less than the next generation of insecticides which are RNAi-based insecticides.
• He explains that interference RNA or RNAi is the name given when a cell wants to make a protein, it activates a particular gene. When the cell wants to stop making a protein, it turns the gene off using various methods. One way that cells turn a gene off is by sending in a small fragment of RNA that suppresses the gene's ex

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