THPC has proved a safe, effective, and nontoxic treatment that withstands laundering and dry cleaning. Today, it is the active ingredient in many commercial insect repellents, including sprays, lotions, gels, creams, towelettes, and sticks. That research led to ways of altering genetic characteristics of living organisms by modifying the structures of nucleic acid. There the tRNAs align with each other along a template of other nucleic acids. The sequence of this alignment determines which protein will be synthesized.
Protein synthesis is the process by which living cells convert food into new cell-building material.
It has led to unprecedented progress in research on understanding how plants biosynthesize complex carbohydrates. Since photosynthesis is so fundamental to plant growth and development, it affects every major agricultural problem. NIR technology enabled the first spectrophotometric detection of the plant pigment phytochrome. I mproved understanding of the nutritional needs of the elderly, infants, and other specialized groups is the work of ARS scientists. For example, they found a link between cataract development and lower levels of vitamin B6, folate, and taurine in the diets of the elderly.