Tag Archives: Cockroaches

Revolutionary Remotely Controlled Swarm of Cockroaches Can Now Breathe Underwater

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Cyborg cockroach designed for underwater exploration

Cyborg Cockroach in Underwater Breathing Suit

Credit: NTU Singapore

Innovative research on cyborg insects shows that swarms of remotely controlled cockroaches can survive underwater with the help of specially designed diving suits, potentially paving the way for exploration on Mars.

Hirotaka Sato and his team at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have successfully demonstrated that hissing cockroaches (Glomphadrina Portentosa) can be remotely controlled through electrical implants in their sensory organs. Their research in 2021 showcased the feasibility, while 2024 saw a breakthrough with a swarm of 20 cooperating insects.

The primary goal was to create biological robots with infrared sensors to assist in search and rescue operations following natural disasters. Cockroaches offer effective locomotion, built-in reflexes, and the potential for energy efficiency, making them ideal candidates for such tasks.

Despite their versatility, the researchers faced challenges with the insects’ ability to explore flooded environments, common during disasters. To overcome this, they developed an aquatic suit enabling underwater operations.

Cockroaches breathe through spiracles located in their abdomen and thorax. The team created a waterproof suit using 3D printed resin, safeguarding the abdominal spiracles from water. A small hose connects the suit to the thoracic spiracle, allowing oxygen absorption.

Instead of traditional scuba gear, the suit uses a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide, producing oxygen through a chemical reaction that the cockroaches can utilize.

While wearing the suit, the cockroaches were capable of submerging up to 50 centimeters for three hours, demonstrating resilience and health after the experiment.

The suit enabled the cyborg insects to swim naturally, achieving a forward speed of 87.5 millimeters per second on land, and just slightly slower at 78.4 millimeters underwater.

Sato envisions that this technology could aid search and rescue missions and possibly one day be adapted for extraterrestrial environments where oxygen is scarce, such as Mars.

The research team plans to further test the cockroach suits under severe conditions found in space, including extreme temperatures, vacuum, and radiation. However, concerns regarding contamination with Earth-based microorganisms remain a hurdle for potential space missions.

According to Alan Winfield, a professor at the University of the West of England, the applications for underwater-cyborg bio-robots extend to environmental monitoring and other crucial tasks.

While small robots struggle with battery life, cockroaches can operate efficiently for extended periods without the need for refueling, highlighting the advantages of biological systems over mechanical ones.

Topics:

  • Space Exploration/
  • Robotics

Source: www.newscientist.com

Insecticides are ineffective for eradicating cockroaches in commercial settings.

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Cockroaches are a common pest

Lerachanok/Shutterstock

People buying insecticide sprays to get rid of cockroaches are wasting money because the bugs have developed a resistance to the key ingredients, prompting calls for U.S. regulators to tighten product testing rules.

There are about 30 species of cockroaches living around humans, but the German cockroach (German cockroachThe common dust mite ( ), found worldwide, is the dust mite most likely to infest buildings. Previous research There is evidence of widespread resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, which are commonly found in consumer products.

now, Jonalyn Gordon University of Florida researchers found that while commercial insecticides continue to work effectively on lab-derived German cockroaches bred from strains that have not been exposed to insecticides, they are ineffective against insects taken from real-world infestations.

The products are designed to be sprayed on surfaces to kill insects that walk across them, but in the team's tests, the coated surfaces killed fewer than 20 percent of the cockroaches they collected after 20 minutes of exposure. “Spraying these products directly in a closed container did not result in a 100 percent kill rate,” Gordon says.

When cockroaches were forced to remain on treated surfaces, most products took between eight and 24 hours to kill them. Previous research In reality, this is unlikely to occur, as these insects have been shown to avoid landing on pyrethroid-treated surfaces.

Pest-control products sold in the United States are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers must prove they are 90 percent effective, but field testing on insects is not generally required.

That needs to change, Gordon says, noting that any bedbug-control products sold in the US should be required to be tested on recently collected specimens. “If that were to happen for cockroach control, I think it would raise the bar for cockroach-control products and ensure that the products on the shelves are providing the control people reasonably expect,” Gordon says.

In the meantime, cockroach repellents are probably the most effective consumer product for controlling pests, with the added benefit of minimizing human exposure to pesticides, Gordon says. Home measures like eliminating food and water sources the pests use and cleaning up clutter can also help. Professional pest control using non-pyrethroid insecticides is also recommended.

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Source: www.newscientist.com