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FDA Wants To Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In Florida

Posted by samzenpus on from the I've-seen-this-movie dept.

MikeChino writes In an attempt to curb outbreaks of two devastating tropical diseases in the Florida Keys, the FDA is proposing the release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into the area. Scientists have bred male mosquitoes with virus gene fragments, so when they mate with the females that bite and spread illness, their offspring will die. This can reduce the mosquito population dramatically, halting the spread of diseases like dengue fever.

3 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So.... by reve_etrange · · Score: 5, Informative

    Will this genetic variation die out in a localized manner, or will it spread globally and wipe out every mosquito?

    Yes, it will die out, it's guaranteed. The technique works by releasing a large number of sterile males which overwhelm the breeding population for one cycle, resulting in a massively smaller next generation. Those males die and by definition they have no offspring. Plus it's already been used internationally without such issues - TFA even mentions this:

    In experiments conducted by Oxitec in Brazil and the Cayman Islands, millions of modified mosquitoes were released over a period of several months, and they ended up decimating over 95 percent of the targeted insect population. Both countries were so impressed by this result that they’re now hoping for larger-scale operations.

    --
    .: Semper Absurda :.
  2. Re:What could possibly go wrong? by reve_etrange · · Score: 5, Informative
    Why predict when you can retrodict?

    In experiments conducted by Oxitec in Brazil and the Cayman Islands, millions of modified mosquitoes were released over a period of several months, and they ended up decimating over 95 percent of the targeted insect population. Both countries were so impressed by this result that they’re now hoping for larger-scale operations.

    --
    .: Semper Absurda :.
  3. Re:So.... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

    How so? Food source... pollinator... is there an unknown benefit of having a blood-borne disease vector?

    There are many different species of mosquitoes. Only some of them are disease vectors. The Anopheles mosquito, which carries malaria, used to be common in Southern Europe and parts of America. When they were exterminated, they were displaced by less harmful species, with no known detrimental effect (other than allowing human populations to grow).