Even as life science companies in seed business and vocal lobbyists for pro-genetically modified (GM) crops combine to make propagandist noises about the goodness of the technology and rapid spread of area under GM crops worldwide comes the news that pests are slowly developing resistance to transgenic crops. Currently, corn (maize), soyabean and cotton are the major field crops in which transgenic varieties have been commercialised. Cotton was the first major field GM crop to go commercial in 1996 in the US. Incidentally, the US is the world's largest producer of soyabean and corn. Gene from a bacterium - Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) - is inserted in the cottonseed as a result of which the plant repels bollworm attack by secreting a protein-based toxin that kills the insect and saves the plant. Survey findings The latest is that reports, based on extensive research, emanating from the US suggest that pests may be in the process of evolving resistance to modified crops. A study of the Bt Cotton crop by researchers in the US has revealed that the bollworm