text:  So get this. Scientists had the fun job of studying the DNA of close to 300 German cockroaches from 51 sites, including Hawaii. They found evidence that the critters had an Asian ancestor over 2,000 years ago, but that Hawaii's cockroaches probably came from the continental U.S. Researcher Chen Tong led the way. He spoke with The Conversation's Maddy Bender earlier this year about his team's study.