A trial to control mosquito populations using genetic engineering has gone wrong
Credit: https://depositphotos.com/16847701/stock-photo-aedes-mosquito-sucking.html
Mosquitoes are more than just a pest – they can be downright dangerous carriers of disease. One of the most innovative ideas to control populations of the bugs has been to release genetically modified male mosquitoes that produce unviable offspring. But unfortunately a test of this in Brazil appears to have failed, with genes from the mutant mosquitoes now mixing with the native population.
The idea sounded solid. Male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were genetically engineered to have a dominant lethal gene. When they mated with wild female mozzies, this gene would drastically cut down the number of offspring they produced, and the few that were born should be too weak to survive long.
Ultimately, this program should cut down the population of mosquitoes in an area – up to 85 percent, in some early tests. This of course means fewer bug-borne diseases, such as dengue, yellow fever, zika, and malaria, in humans. And since the offspring don’t live long enough to […]
I remember living in Florida during the 70’s and 80’s and they sprayed the waterways which were prolific and were every mile or less to keep the water from turning Florida back into a swamp which is what it was before they started construction on homes all over south Florida. That spray is responsible for many residents getting lung infections of every kind and is one of the many reasons I had to leave the state. One of the other reasons for my moving was that the bugs of all sorts were still present no matter how much spraying they did; especially cockroaches which were terrible. Even the very rich people (like Trump) had roaches in their homes.