Millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes could soon be released in Florida if British researchers get permission to use insects against two viral diseases in the Florida Keys area.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes may soon be released in Florida whether UK researchers get permission to use insects against two viral diseases in the Florida Keys area.
Never before genetically modified insects they had been so close to being released from a US residential area. Michael Doyle, executive director of Florida Keys Mosquitoor, is waiting for the experiment get FDA approval.
The reference diseases are Dengue e It's getting cold, both growing in the United States. But some people would probably be more afraid of being bitten by a genetically engineered mosquito.
In fact, more than 130 citizens have signed one petition against the experiment. Even potential supporters of the project they believe that those responsible for the experiment must do more to demonstrate that the benefits outweigh the risks.
The question GM it is very thorny for the general public, and according to Phil Lounibos, who studies mosquito control at Florida Medical Entomology Laboratories, such an experiment should not be carried out if public opinion is against it.
Il climate change and globalization, according to supporters of the project, would be helping to spread tropical diseases even in areas far from the equator, such as Florida and Key West in particular.
Le GMO mosquitoes would they really be able to help eradicate the insects that transmit the two dreaded diseases? For Dengue and Chikunguya at the moment there are no vaccines or treatments.
To try to limit the spread of Aedes aegypt mosquitoesi, in the Florida Keys area pesticides are sprayed year-round by helicopters. But the insects have become resistant to at least four of the six substances used to kill them.
Here then is aBritish biotech company, in collaboration with Oxford researchers, has patented a method of breeding genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, with protein fragments from herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria, genes from coral and cabbage.
The idea is to promote the mating of genetically modified male mosquitoes with wild female mosquitoes. The larvae born from mating they will not survive. The Oxitec company has built a GM mosquito breeding laboratory in Marathon and hopes to release the specimens this spring in Key Haven, a residential area with more than 400 homes.
None of this will happen if the FDA does not give permission to proceed. Will we really enter the era of genetically modified insects?
Marta Albè
Source and photo: foxnews.com
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