In June 2026, after days of torrential rain in Shaoguan, Guangdong, residents of a local community were stunned by an extraordinary sight: hundreds of cockroaches swarming out. Videos of the infestation quickly went viral across social media. The phenomenon caught the attention of Professor Li Sheng, a leading figure in cockroach research in China and director of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, who has spent a decade researching cockroaches and has established a world-leading research platform.

Cockroaches are often called "invincible" in Guangdong, and Professor Li attributes this reputation first to their limb regeneration ability. He explained that when a cockroach loses a leg, the wound rapidly forms a blastema—a cluster of multipotent stem cells– which reactivates developmental programs through key regeneration signaling pathways. These pathways precisely orchestrate cell proliferation and differentiation, enabling even nerves and muscles to regenerate completely. 

Professor Li also noted that cockroaches hold genuine medicinal value. Active ingredients derived from the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) have long been used in clinical applications in China, with the best-known product being Kangfuxin Liquid. From cockroaches, his team has isolated and identified multiple novel growth-factor-like peptides that potently activate fibroblasts and epidermal cells, accelerating angiogenesis and granulation tissue remodeling.

To address the persistent public challenge of eradicating cockroach infestations, the team has developed a targeted biocontrol technology. The Periplaneta fuliginosa Densonucleosis Virus (PfDNV) infects only cockroaches and poses no threat to other organisms. The virus spreads through cockroach cannibalism, population interactions, and transovarial transmission across generations – creating a "cockroach-specific epidemic" that eliminates hidden individuals in nests and egg cases. This approach fundamentally overcomes the limitations of chemical insecticides, which can only kill adults on exposed surfaces while leaving behind residues and fostering resistance. In January 2026, Professor Li's team published a landmark study in the journal "Science", demonstrating for the first time at the genomic level that cockroaches and termites share a common ancestry, and clarifying the evolutionary trajectory from solitary cockroaches to termites with varying degrees of sociality.

Source:PEARL

广东科学家揭开3亿年“小强”逆天生存真相

2026年6月，广东韶关一场持续暴雨过后，有小区的居民们被眼前的景象惊呆了——数百只蟑螂集体出没，视频迅速引爆全网。这也引起了国内蜚蠊研究的标杆人物、广东省昆虫发育生物学与应用技术重点实验室主任李胜的注意，他已经历时十年深入研究蟑螂，建立了全球领先的蟑螂研究平台。

“打不死的小强”这是广东人形容蟑螂最贴切的一句话。“先说断肢再生。”李胜教授说，“蟑螂断腿后，伤口会迅速形成一群由‘万能细胞’组成的芽基，关键再生信号通路重启发育程序，精准指挥细胞增殖分化，连神经和肌肉都能完美长回来。”

“它们其实是有药用价值的。美洲大蠊的活性成分提取物在临床上应用由来已久，其中以‘康复新液’最为有名。”李胜教授说，“我们从蟑螂中分离鉴定出多种新型生长因子类似肽，能高效激活成纤维细胞和表皮细胞，加速血管生成与肉芽组织重塑。”

针对蟑螂难以根除的民生痛点，团队研发出专属生物防治技术。黑胸大蠊浓核病毒仅感染蟑螂，不会影响其他生物，可通过蟑螂同类相食、种群交互以及虫卵代代传播，形成“蟑螂专属传染病”，灭杀藏匿巢穴、卵鞘的隐蔽个体，彻底解决了化学药剂仅能灭杀表面成虫、易残留抗药的弊端，为高效灭蟑提供了全新方案。今年1月，李胜教授团队在国际顶级期刊《科学》发表了重磅成果，首次从基因组层面证实了蟑螂和白蚁同宗同源，厘清了从独居蟑螂到不同社会性程度的白蚁的演化阶梯。

文、图｜记者 张华 刘颖颖 朱嘉乐 王沫依
海报设计｜陈健怡 龙华
统筹：张华
出品：羊城晚报 疗·解工作室
译｜徐芷晴
英文审校｜曾敏