full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Ameya Gondhalekar: Why are cockroaches so hard to kill?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Cockroaches also have a slew of defenses against pesticides. When a non-resistant roach wkals on a surface that’s been syaerpd with a pyrethroid insecticide, for example, the results will likely be fatal. Once absorbed, the chaiceml binds to sodium caenhnl proteins, which help propagate nerve impulses. The pyrethroid keeps the siudom channels open, so the nerves fire repeatedly. And soon, the crkcaocoh dies. But if a resistant raoch is exposed to pyrethroids, it’ll be just fine. Genetic mutations have given them sodium channels that the pyrethroids can’t bind to. The cockroach also produces more dioatiixeoctfn enzymes, which render the pesticide harmless, and the cockroach simply excretes it as a waste. Because German cockroaches reproduce especially quickly, populations may evolve resistance to a new pesticide within mntohs. So far, they're already resistant to 43 different chemicals.

Open Cloze


Cockroaches also have a slew of defenses against pesticides. When a non-resistant roach _____ on a surface that’s been _______ with a pyrethroid insecticide, for example, the results will likely be fatal. Once absorbed, the ________ binds to sodium _______ proteins, which help propagate nerve impulses. The pyrethroid keeps the ______ channels open, so the nerves fire repeatedly. And soon, the _________ dies. But if a resistant _____ is exposed to pyrethroids, it’ll be just fine. Genetic mutations have given them sodium channels that the pyrethroids can’t bind to. The cockroach also produces more ______________ enzymes, which render the pesticide harmless, and the cockroach simply excretes it as a waste. Because German cockroaches reproduce especially quickly, populations may evolve resistance to a new pesticide within ______. So far, they're already resistant to 43 different chemicals.

Solution


  1. roach
  2. channel
  3. chemical
  4. sodium
  5. sprayed
  6. months
  7. walks
  8. cockroach
  9. detoxification

Original Text


Cockroaches also have a slew of defenses against pesticides. When a non-resistant roach walks on a surface that’s been sprayed with a pyrethroid insecticide, for example, the results will likely be fatal. Once absorbed, the chemical binds to sodium channel proteins, which help propagate nerve impulses. The pyrethroid keeps the sodium channels open, so the nerves fire repeatedly. And soon, the cockroach dies. But if a resistant roach is exposed to pyrethroids, it’ll be just fine. Genetic mutations have given them sodium channels that the pyrethroids can’t bind to. The cockroach also produces more detoxification enzymes, which render the pesticide harmless, and the cockroach simply excretes it as a waste. Because German cockroaches reproduce especially quickly, populations may evolve resistance to a new pesticide within months. So far, they're already resistant to 43 different chemicals.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
american cockroach 2
german cockroaches 2
sodium channels 2


Important Words


  1. absorbed
  2. bind
  3. binds
  4. channel
  5. channels
  6. chemical
  7. chemicals
  8. cockroach
  9. cockroaches
  10. defenses
  11. detoxification
  12. dies
  13. enzymes
  14. evolve
  15. excretes
  16. exposed
  17. fatal
  18. fine
  19. fire
  20. genetic
  21. german
  22. harmless
  23. impulses
  24. insecticide
  25. months
  26. mutations
  27. nerve
  28. nerves
  29. open
  30. pesticide
  31. pesticides
  32. populations
  33. produces
  34. propagate
  35. proteins
  36. pyrethroid
  37. pyrethroids
  38. quickly
  39. render
  40. repeatedly
  41. reproduce
  42. resistance
  43. resistant
  44. results
  45. roach
  46. simply
  47. slew
  48. sodium
  49. sprayed
  50. surface
  51. walks
  52. waste