A plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes has been condemned as a ‘Jurassic Park experiment’. The insects, which have been bred by British-bas… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/337691/750m-gm-mosquitoes-to-be-released-in-florida…
Tag: Mosquitoes
America’s Government Approves Release of Genetically-Engineered Mosquitoes
America’s Environmental Protection Agency “granted permission for genetically engineered mosquitoes to be released into the Florida Keys and around Houston to see if they can help limit the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses,” writes Bloomberg Environment. clovis (Slashdot reader #4,684) shared their report on ab experimental use permit granted to British biotech company Oxitec Ltd:
Oxitec’s first field trial in Brazil achieved up…
A bee from the age of dinosaurs
One hundred million years ago, a bee got trapped in tree resin. Over time, geological forces converted the resin to amber. Now a scientist arrives on the scene, to tell us this bee’s story. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/fossil-bee-trapped-amber-parasites-pollen…
Introducing Mosquitos Infected with Bacterium Reduced Dengue Fever Cases By 75%
Last year nearly 400 million people experienced Dengue fever, according to All Things Considered. (Just Brazil alone had more than 2 million cases.) But The World Mosquito Project is trying an interesting solution: Scientists are cultivating and releasing mosquitoes, except these mosquitoes are special: They’ve been infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia. Wolbachia occurs naturally in many insects, but not normally…
Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Causes, Symptoms and Prevention
The Eastern equine encephalitis virus is spread by mosquitoes and, in rare cases, can lead to a life-threatening brain infection. Source: https://www.livescience.com/eastern-equine-encephalitis.html
Scare stories of mutant GM mosquitoes aren’t true, but have some truth
Tales of hybrid super-mosquitoes produced by a GM trial in Brazil are way off the mark – but our careless ways do create mutants that harm us, says Michael Le Page Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332503-400-scare-stories-of-mutant-gm-mosquitoes-arent-true-but-have-some-truth/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Was Cuba’s Mysterious Sonic Weapon Just Mosquito Gas?
Remember concerns about possible “sonic attacks” in Cuba? Long-time Slashdot reader kbahey shares an update: In the wake of the health problems experienced over the past three years by US and Canadian staff in Havana, Cuba embassies, Global Affairs Canada commissioned a clinical study by a team of multidisciplinary researchers. Now, the working hypothesis is that the cause could instead be…
Scientists Can’t Agree on Whether Genetically Modified-Mosquito Experiment Went Horribly Wrong
Gene-edited mosquitoes were released into the wild in Brazil and some seem to have passed on their genes to the native insects. Source: https://www.livescience.com/genetically-modified-mosquitoes-create-hybrids.html
Transgenic Mosquitoes Transferred Their Genes Into a Natural Population
Long-time Slashdot reader cccc828 shares a Nature article “about genetically modified mosquitoes that were supposed to reduce the mosquito population. However, instead of dying, some survived, spreading the new genes.” In an attempt to control the mosquito-borne diseases yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika fevers, a strain of transgenically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes containing a dominant lethal gene has been developed…
Mosquitoes may have killed half the people who ever lived
A book full of fascinating facts about mosquitoes shows the powerful ways they shaped our history – and the huge toll they’ve taken on human life Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332420-500-mosquitoes-may-have-killed-half-the-people-who-ever-lived/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…