NIH award to fund research of light-based insect control alternative to pesticides

(University of California - Irvine) UCI biophysicist Todd Holmes receives $2.1 million R35 award to examine how insect phototransduction can be used to design better light-based insect control strategies. Understanding how insects respond to short wavelength light may permit development of new, environmentally friendly alternatives to controlling harmful bugs, such as mosquitoes, reducing the need for toxic pesticides.