Radio Active Flies (1966)

Israel. At the Citrus Industry Laboratories we see various shots of scientists at work, creating a special food containing radio active material, which they feed to fruit flies to make them sterile. Two men in an orange orchard let hundreds of sterile flies out of paper bags; now they are sterile they cannot lay eggs that would normally ruin the crop. M/S of oranges covered with the flies. One of the men holds a geiger counter next to the fruit with flies; commentator says “And remember, the flies are not dangerous, despite the small amount of radiation which can be measured on a geiger counter“. Cuts exist - see separate record. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news