Pollen wafts from a field of corn genetically engineered to make its own insecticide in amounts sufficient to kill monarch butterfly caterpillars nearby, according to an Iowa study.
The corn variety examined carries a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis for an especially strong punch of the bacterial toxin. The corn sheds pollen at worrisome concentrations up to 10 meters from the field, report Laura C.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.