Disease Control Through Mosquitoes

Pending the FDA’s approval GM mosquitoes may be released into the Florida Keys. In order to combat Denngue and Chikungunya a British Biotech Firm wants to release GM mosquitoes as a response. This GM gene is to be placed in males because they don't bite for blood. The male would then mate with other females at which point the offspring produced would die. As the mosquitoes evolve to resists insecticides we may have to resort to genetic modifications to lower populations and help control the spread of disease. However, already 130,000 people have signed a petition to stop their release into the environment. While it seems like a good solution, releasing a creature with GM DNA that all to often interacts with our own blood will take some convincing for many people. Read more at the Guardian.

Photo: Jim Gathany/ CDC/European Pressphoto Agency