Nearly half of the world’s population needs rice to survive. There is an impending world wide shortage of rice predicted to start as soon as this year beginning what many fear will be years of extreme famine with millions dying. Either rice production per hectare must increase and/or rice crop damage and losses be reduced to stave off the anticipated coming famine.
A major source of rice losses is the ricefield rat that consumes or damages anywhere from 15% to 50% of the preharvest rice crop. Due to the scale of rice cultivation, if rice production were to increase by 10% this would feed about 380 million people per year. Chemical sterilization of pest species is our platform technology.
Our product, ContraPest™, will address the imminent rice shortage by limiting the ricefield rat population in the field yielding more crop at harvest. ContraPest™ is a chemical sterilant that targets the female rat ovary causing permanent sterility. ContraPest™ will be put in bait stations in the rice fields. The consumption of ContraPest will cause female rat sterility within 1 month of ingestion.
ContraPest™ is being formulated in a rat attractant specific bait minimizing consumption by non target species. Our product is environmentally neutral. It is rapidly inactivated in dosed rats and the excreted metabolite is inactive. ContraPest™ will not bioaccumulate nor enter the food chain. Therefore predators of the rats will not be accidentally dosed. The rats that consume the ContraPest™ bait have no other physiologic changes other than elimination of all eggs in the ovary resulting in permanent sterility.
ContraPest™ is a better solution to the rat problem than current poison approach. Acute poison is non-specific and kills too many rats at once, often resulting in a rebound if not overshoot in the rat population within a few generations. ContraPest™ is formulated from a commodity chemical making its cost equivalent to that of poison.
By preventing ricefield rat population expansion that accompanies rice crop growth and maturation, there will be less damage and more rice harvested. Our collaborators at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines will refine the dosing and administration of ContraPest™ in their research rice fields in West Java in summer 2008. With our experience and working knowledge of ContraPest™ efficacy in rice fields, it is expected to be marketed within 2 years to the 13 Southeast Asian countries that are responsible for the vast majority of world rice production.
Mouseopause™
The need for relevant animal models in which to study the symptoms associated with the
menopausal transition has never been greater. Equivocal outcomes in the Women’s Health Initiative trial have
called into question current therapeutic regimens and have increased awareness of our current lack of knowledge in
this area. Drs. Mayer and Hoyer have developed the first model that allows investigation, during the perimenopause
window, of the contribution of endogenous hormones in altering therapeutic efficacy and disease development as it
occurs in humans. Ovary-intact peri- and post-menopause mouse models are available exclusively by license from the
University of Arizona through The Jackson Laboratory at www.jax.org .
ChemSpay™
The evolutionary process has conserved the basic endocrinology and physiology principles
of mammalian reproduction. The same endocrine protein and steroid hormones and follicle populations as well as
follicular maturation and atresia are conserved across mammalian species. And in cats and dogs follicular maturation
and elimination via atresia and apoptosis occurs by the same stages as observed in rodents.
Currently, the only form of permanent pet sterilization is a major surgical procedure to remove the reproductive organs. The procedure, spaying (ovariohysterectomy) in females and neutering (orchiectomy) in males, averages about $75.00 nationwide as reported by Veterinary Economics 2003. Not only is the procedure a major invasive procedure with related risks, but it is too expensive for many people on a low or fixed income. Development of an affordable, non-surgical form of sterilization in the dog and cat would have a profound effect an animal welfare overall.
The ideal solution for this application should be:
- Safe
- 100% effective – no follow up monitoring required
- Irreversible
- Single application – this is particularly important in animal shelters
- Eliminate heat and heat behavior (territorial behavior - transient aggressiveness)
Our research shows that ChemSpay will achieve all these criteria!
SenesCheck
The loss of ovarian follicles that leads to sterility in mammals is accompanied by a
gradual rise in the gonadotropin hormones follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).
In concert with the development of animal models in various species SenesTech is developing rapid, cost-effective
assays for these hormones for use in research and to confirm sterility in companion animals. For more
information contact info@senestech.com.