The technology has been licensed by ARS for use in animals and in human medicine. R esearch on vaccines and other controls for avian leukosis, a major chicken disease, has helped to define the characteristics of these and other retroviruses, showing that they continually evolve to produce greater virulence. Like AIDS, avian leukosis is caused by a retrovirus. S oybeans, once a minor forage crop in the United States, are now the nation's second most valuable crop. ARS scientists did this by breeding soybeans with resistance to root knot nematodes and to several foliage-feeding insects.
Soybeans are high in protein and other nutrients.
They also have isoflavones, which studies suggest have cancer-preventing properties. S terile insect release technology has transformed insect control strategies from depending almost entirely on chemicals to curbing pest populations by disrupting their reproduction. The revolutionary new technique has been used effectively against screwworms, Mediterranean fruit flies, gypsy moths, boll weevils, and tsetse flies. Sterile release has eradicated screwworms in the United States, Mexico, and in part of Central America. U niversal Soil Loss Equation was a pioneering use of computers for solving agricultural problems.