Smidges of Midges

samCameron, Erin, and Sam have officially started one of their 3 assays, using the Chironomus Riparius!As mentioned in the previous post “ Construction Zone” these midges are used to test agricultural chemicals. This is because their hormone that controls the larval stages, ecdysone, is so similar to estrogen that chemicals that activate estrogen receptors will also activate ecdysone receptors. This is what made these bugs such an assay for testing for estrogen in stevia!

Construction Zone!

Cameron, Erin, and Sam are now building Breeding cages. This is part of an assay to test for the presence endocrine disrupting chemicals using Chironomus riparius, a non-biting midge. constructionThe hardest part is making sure the sides are completely closed, as these midges can be as small as 1 mm! They used these midges specifically because they are used very often while testing endocrine disrupting effects of commercial agricultural chemicals.