Phys.org March 15, 2022
A biotech firm is seeking permission to release 2 million genetically modified male mosquitoes, with a “kill switch” built into their DNA, into the open air of California. When they mate with wild insects, their offspring die, causing an eventual collapse of the population. They are targeting swarms of the mosquito, first detected in Los Angeles County in 2011, which have since spread northward into 20 California counties. Unlike California’s native mosquitoes which emerge at dusk, these black-and-white-striped invaders hunt for blood during the day, when people are outside. They transmit potentially fatal Zika, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and other viruses. The modified mosquitoes don’t bite or spread disease, do not harm beneficial bugs like bees and butterflies, and they only mate with others of their species, not California’s native mosquitoes. Only the female offspring die; the males live and become carriers of the deadly gene, passing it on to shrinking future generations. It has been approved by federal regulators and now under review by the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation…read more.