Word: cockroaches
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Everybody who works with cockroaches ends up reading him," says Mary H. Ross, professor of entomology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. "He's certainly the number one authority on the cockroach on any sort of basic information." Ross, who studies the genetics of German cockroaches, says that she frequently refers to Roth's work on the life history of the species she studies...
Although Roth has not worked with live specimens for about 10 years, he misses his behavioral studies. "A cockroach on a pin is nothing like the living thing. It doesn't smell the same: it's not waving its antennae at you," he says...
...throughout his army career, Roth faced skepticism from army officials who worried more about upholding the good name of the army than about publishing works of scientific significance. In the early 1950s, when Roth was ready to publish his findings on the reproductive behavior of the cockroach, the army refused to give him clearance. After he submitted the paper to Washington officials for review, he recalls, "It came back with a note saying that it was unacceptable because of the use of the word 'sex' in the title. I took the word 'sex' out of the title and got back...
...Washington officials worried that a paper on cockroach behavior published under the auspices of the army's lab would be bad publicity for the service. Roth decided, however, that the information should be made public, and told his lab chief that he still wanted to publish the findings. The chief told him that if he did so, he should leave out any mention of the army. Thus, the study was published with the author's home address, not that of the lab where they conducted the research, as is customary in scientific papers...
...years later, national attention turned to the cockroach as the federal Ribicoff Committee started investigating the use of pest controls which do not have a severe effect on the environment. The investigation was prompted by the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," which decried the use of dangerous pesticides. A national news program televised some of the hearings, including a demonstration of the effect of the female sex attractant, without mentioning the army lab's part in the study...