Andy Dyer

Andy Dyer

Andy Dyer is Professor of Biology at the University of South Carolina, Aiken. He is the author or coauthor of thirty journal articles and book chapters in plant ecology. Dr. Dyer's research interests are in population and community ecology, invasive species ecology, and habitat restoration. His current research focuses on population biology of invasive grasses, including competitive ability and germination traits.

Using DDT to Control the Zika Virus: "A Pandora's Box of Problems"

By Andy Dyer / On February 22nd, 2016
The proposal to bring DDT out of the retired arsenal of chemical weaponry to control mosquito vectors carrying the Zika virus is a Pandora’s Box of problems.  And these are not hypothetical problems.  The mosquitoes and the virus are biological threats that have emerged because of disruptions to the broader environment, all of which are connected to human population growth and simplification of the ecosystems humans live in.  While the Zika virus is a very real threat to human health, the answer to this threat is not DDT.