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EPA Approves Release of Bacteria-Carrying Mosquitoes To 20 States (nature.com)
schwit1 writes: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of a common bacterium to kill wild mosquitoes that transmit viruses such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika, Nature's news team has learned. On November 3rd, the agency told biotechnology start-up MosquitoMate that it could release the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis into the environment as a tool against the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Lab-reared mosquitoes will deliver the bacterium to wild mosquito populations. The decision -- which the EPA has not formally announced -- allows the company, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky, to release the bacteria-infected mosquitoes in 20 U.S. states and Washington DC.
MosquitoMate will rear the Wolbachia-infected A. albopictus mosquitoes in its laboratories, and then sort males from females. Then the laboratory males, which don't bite, will be released at treatment sites. When these males mate with wild females, which do not carry the same strain of Wolbachia, the resulting fertilized eggs don't hatch because the paternal chromosomes do not form properly. The company says that over time, as more of the Wolbachia-infected males are released and breed with the wild partners, the pest population of A. albopictus mosquitoes dwindles. Other insects, including other species of mosquito, are not harmed by the practice, says Stephen Dobson, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and founder of MosquitoMate.
MosquitoMate will rear the Wolbachia-infected A. albopictus mosquitoes in its laboratories, and then sort males from females. Then the laboratory males, which don't bite, will be released at treatment sites. When these males mate with wild females, which do not carry the same strain of Wolbachia, the resulting fertilized eggs don't hatch because the paternal chromosomes do not form properly. The company says that over time, as more of the Wolbachia-infected males are released and breed with the wild partners, the pest population of A. albopictus mosquitoes dwindles. Other insects, including other species of mosquito, are not harmed by the practice, says Stephen Dobson, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and founder of MosquitoMate.
It’s not like bacteria frequently mutate and jump species!
And this only makes the entire species go completely extinct! Like in that Star Trek Voyager episode. So fuck the moral implications.
</sarcasm>
It will be fun times, when it turns out that humanity really is too dumb to live.
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Our backyards is full of bloody cane toads at this time of year... I hope they get this one right ;)
I've read research that this strategy actually works, which is amazing to me.
There are so many mosquitos, how can they possibly release enough to actually make a difference in the population?
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Weren't we thaught in school not to mess with the ecosystems and let nature run its course? else we might risk exterminating some species by mistake?
For their next trick, free Ebola sandwiches!
Is that like Free Mandela tee-shirts?
Wait what? Did you just equate genetically modified species being released into the wild with a non-binding international treaty to curb emissions? Wtf?
For the Nth time, the Paris climate agreement is non-binding. If for whatever reason your country does not care about the global climate, you're entirely free to ignore the Paris goals, shut your eyes and keep burning all the oil and the coal you want. There are no sanctions in the treaty for countries that do not meet their goals.
The point of the Paris agreement is to try to get everyone to do what they can to slow down the rate of emissions (and hence warming) to a point where the consequences are more manageable. The point is precisely to try to make sure nations don't get fucked by massive climatic changes.
Comparing such a project, which has a well understood basis in natural science (the greenhouse effect has been well understood for over a century and is demonstrable in a lab) and is based on the voluntary co-operation of nations for the common good of everyone (just like the closing of the hole in the ozone layer, which was also achieved by an international consensus and realization that continuation of past practices would have lead to serious harm for everyone) to an experiment where a single nation starts to release genetically modified insects is just plain dumb. We know that reducing emissions is good for everyone in the mid to long term, and we know this for a fact. We don't know that releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild will not have significant adverse effects.
I understand that this kind of strawman where the Paris treaty is seen as some kind of NWO tool to control what nations can do flies on facebook & al where people get their news from mainly reading headlines of blogposts, but I seriously expect people on this site to have a modicum more of insight into what the treaty actually says before going overboard with the tinfoilhat level of crazy.
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" -Alfred North Whitehead
The Zika-carrying mosquito is an invasive species in the US, and one that got there because of Human globalization and transport systems. Wiping out that subspecies is to restore balance not disrupt it.
Not only are the targeted mosqutoes an invasive species, but your ability to read TFS is as offensively poor as your abuse of apostrophes.
By approving to only 20 states, do they really think the mosquitoes will not cross state lines? Or jump to Mexico or Canada? What if a country like N.Korea starts designing and releasing their own organisms in a "F the world" gesture - then will it be seen as a problem?
Sounds good on paper. Let's watch and see.
"And for the record: I agree that this plan is utterly insane."
I disagree. If that was the case, the article obviously would have the whatcouldpossiblygowrong flag.
The Wolbachia bacteria already exists naturally in insects all over the world, including several species of mosquitoes. The bacteria inhibits reproduction of viruses like Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya in the mosquito, significantly reducing the risk of spreading the virus. This without using any kind of chemicals or genetic engineering. The World Mosquito Program has more information about Wolbachia: http://www.eliminatedengue.com...
The bacteria they're using already exists in nature and already infects mosquitoes. Nothing is being released that isn't already out there. All this conjecture about genetically modified organisms, hybrids, extinction, jumping species, etc. is just knee-jerk fear-mongering by people who have no clue what they're talking about.
Free Palestine *
* Offer only valid with the purchase of one Palestine at full price.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
from Jurassic Park?
Life... will find a way.
Do mosquito females only mate with one male?
I ask because if mosquitoes are like cats or humans who mate with many males, they would end up with offspring even if most of the males are shooting blanks.
Except for the ones that do form. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping mutant DNA; the mosquitos will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted Slashdot moderator, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground anti-DEET research labs.
There are no genetically-modified mosquitoes here. They are infected with a naturally-occurring bacterium. Please reduce the size of your tinfoil wardrobe.
Binding or not, it is wrong of us to not participate.
Wouldn't this strengthen the population that carries the viruses by eliminating the weaker carries, i.e. breeding out the weak and re-enforcing the stronger ones? I'm not a biologist or geneticist
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
This shit is literally like 50 years old. The science is settled. Even the alarmist EPA couldn't find anything wrong with it.
By approving to only 20 states, do they really think the mosquitoes will not cross state lines? Or jump to Mexico or Canada? What if a country like N.Korea starts designing and releasing their own organisms in a "F the world" gesture - then will it be seen as a problem?
I don't know that the concept is to have strict geographic borders. Any borders will be very fuzzy. But the highly focused control methods are not new. Bacillus thuringiensis I is also used to control Mosquitoes. And it does a great job, killing the larvae of just the mosquitoes (also fungus gnat and blackfly larvae) but that's it. In the pond in my backyard, we use it, and doesn't bother the frogs or fish one bit.
Bacillus thuringiensis K a version of the bacteria that goes after Gypsy moths. And it's approved for "organic" status.
Both completely natural, not man made and found on beaches.
And did you know that there are some species of insect that cannot reproduce without Wolbachia, the bacteria in question? It is a very common bacteria, it has the same effect in a male mosquito who picks it up randomly as in a purposely infected one.
We've learned a lot about pest control, and have gone far beyond early and clumsy efforts. While so many Slashdotters are still stuck in the 1960's Andromeda Strain world, we've been using these highly focused controls for many years. might as well rail on about vaccines.
tl;dr version. if Wolbachia is a problem, we're screwed already because it's ubiquitous. As for NK pulling some insect borne stunt, its them and everyone else. This isn't rocket surgery.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
how on Earth is going the EPA and US to control that such kind of hybrids
Well, first of all, these are not "hybrids". They are just regular mosquitoes carrying a bacteria that regularly infects mosquitoes already. So, done?
doesn't invade another countries like Canada or Mexico?
What the bacteria does is make the male mosquito sterile, so that when he mates with a female in the wild, instead of producing thousands of new mosquitoes they just make thousands of eggs that don't develop. I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about the eggs migrating to other countries. And since male mosquitoes (the only ones being infected and released) only live about ten days, the risk of them travelling across borders seems fairly small. And if they do, their tenancy as illegal aliens of other countries will be quite short-lived. And, since the treatment they receive sterilizes them, they will have no foreign-born offspring disrupting the existing mosquito populations of other countries, taking their jobs, getting on mosquito welfare, or whatever.
My favorite comments thus far have been ones from people with clearly no understanding of biology or pathology. Would you wet your pants in your chair if I told you this isn't the first time a strategy like this has been employed? Not specifically with the mosquito, or any particular species thereof, but with many invasive species of plants, such as cheatgrass:
https://blog.nature.org/science/2016/09/07/attacking-invasive-cheatgrass-root-soil-microbes-biocontrol-sage/
and fish:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4333861/
This is not under-explored science, nor is it novel. Read a book (or a publication) once in a while instead of buzzfeed and you'd be surprised to learn what we actually know how to do with regard to ecosystem modification.
Well - 1st off this species originated in tropical and sub-tropical Asia.. so the more arid western states probably do not have a mosquito problem to begin with. 2nd, southern states that do not experience prolonged sub-freezing temperatures probably have a much larger rate of infection. That right there condenses the areas that could use this "treatment".
They are only releasing the mosquitoes with the naturally occurring bacteria, they aren't really genetically modified. Think of it more as selective breeding aimed at controlling this aggressive mosquito.
I just got back from Japan - it wasn't nearly as bad this time but this breed is nasty. My son and I are pin cushions to them.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Quote: "And, since the treatment they receive sterilizes them, ..."
Are you sure? I mean, are you SCIENTIFICALLY sure about that point?
Let's see some scenearios I'm sure they have taken into account (pun intended):
1) Mosquitoes infected that ain't sterile after all.
2) Interspecies newborns that might became bacteria-proof (think like horse + donkey = mule). This mosquito+bacteria + another species of mosquito from other Country might create another thing that hasn't been studies and might even create much much worse scenario
3) Etc.
That's why in Europe is not allowed to sell GMOs and in EEUU it is, because there's no study of side-effects. (Like when an USA University proposed, seriously, to launch an umbrella into space to reduce global warming... Â_Â )
The basic ingredients of aspartame are naturally occurring. That doesn't mean we should engorge ourselves with it. With the ubiquity of Bisphenol A in the human food chain, sterile "males" will decimate the human race. Thereby giving these insects free reign over this planet. That's how G-d rolls.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Yeah, it's true that Northern states still have mosquitoes. I've even had someone jokingly tell me that the mosquito is even the state bird of Minnesota.
However, not all mosquito species actually carry the diseases that we'd like to prevent, and some of those species that are carriers don't inhabit northern states or aren't as prevalent on the west coast of the country.
Are you sure? I mean, are you SCIENTIFICALLY sure about that point?
From TFA: "Using lab-grown mosquitoes to kill mosquito pests has been tested extensively in Brazil in recent years. [emphasis mine]" A number of other tests -- for specifically this method, and similar ones -- are mentioned as well, so I'm going to go with "Yes" in answer to your question.
I'm not sure why you think this is being approved for widespread use (somewhat anyway. But still limited to areas with temperature and precipitation conditions to areas where it was successfully tested within the U.S.) without adequate testing. It is not as if it is going from concept directly to broad approval.
. . . tell me this has absolutely nothing to do with Oxitec or the Gates Foundation, for when Gates Foundation owned Oxitec, and they released those dengue-fighting mosquitoes, every single location experienced an explosion in that Zika virus!
And the dodo, T-rex, Brontosauri that roam freely....
oh wait.
If you want to cut down on the number of blood-sucking parasites in your area, the answer is simple: quit electing them.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
We've learned a lot about pest control, and have gone far beyond early and clumsy efforts. While so many Slashdotters are still stuck in the 1960's Andromeda Strain world, we've been using these highly focused controls for many years. might as well rail on about vaccines.
Oh man, I thoroughly enjoyed that post. Good work!
Quote: "And, since the treatment they receive sterilizes them, ..."
Are you sure? I mean, are you SCIENTIFICALLY sure about that point?
I'm not sure, but what I am confident of is that the scientists who do this work for a living know more about it than you or I. And even if they go off half-cocked there are layers and layers of scrutiny and regulations to pull them up.
So yeah, the place to ask these questions is not here.
I agree with this. I've lived in central Africa, the upper Midwest US, and a Nordic country.
The mosquitoes in central Africa (city and rural areas) were definitely less bothersome than summer in rural areas in the other two places. On the other hand, occasionally you come down with malaria.
"Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist." -Indiana Jones
The 20 states are CA, CT, DC, DE, lL, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, MO, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA. RI, TN, VT, and WY. (from the document at https://www.regulations.gov/do...)
Oh no, not an invasive mosquito species going extinct. Whatever will we do?
Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.
Yep, cold states have intense mosquito seasons, but not with the species they're targeting in this article.
Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.