An American company will soon release two billion genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild in order to reduce the number of disease-carrying insects.
Mosquitoes are the nightmare of millions of people around the world. Carriers of potentially serious diseases such as malaria, dengue or chikungunya, they are often the target of insecticides or swatters on mild summer nights. A nuisance that some would like to do without. So to prevent their spread in the years to come and reduce their population, American society Oxitec has come up with a new method that seems to be working, GMO mosquitoes.
As reported by the site Boy Genius Report relayed by Lemon Squeezer, the company has received permission to release two billion genetically modified male mosquitoes into the wild for a very specific purpose. Baptized OX5034, their mission is to reproduce with females of the Aedes aegypti species, potentially carrying the Zika virus which is particularly prevalent in Africa and Asia.
If they carry it out, the larvae will not be able to develop or reproduce or sting. Their growth will be automatically blocked for lack of proteins necessary for their development. And that the worried are reassured: the modified mosquitoes are males and do not sting. Only females do this because they need blood to ensure the maturation of their eggs.
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A proven method
This completely innovative method, which aims to defeat evil with evil, has already proven itself in the past. Last May, the company had already released 750 million mosquitoes in Florida and the results were clear. A significant decline in mosquito populations has been recorded with no adverse effect on the environment. On the one hand, this solution would make it possible to drastically reduce the use of toxic insecticides which cause a massacre of mosquitoes, without distinction of gender, and other important insects such as bees.
On the other hand, mosquito releases would reduce populations without completely eradicating them. As explained by the experts behind these tests, the survivors serve as meals for several species such as birds and bats. All this with the certainty of not contaminating the food chain with carcinogenic products.
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