Gene Drive in the News
A curated collection of articles from the popular press
Soon we’ll be able to engineer the wild, can the policies keep up with the science?
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Policy, RegulationM. Montague and A. Kobokovich, The Hill, 2020.
Humans have been able to genetically alter the world around them for thousands of years. With the domestication of dogs at least 14,000 years ago, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been a constant feature of human society; only recently have we gained the ability to ...
Who is afraid of genetically modified mosquitoes?
Tags: Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)G. Odogwu, The PUNCH, 2020.
Genetically Modified Organisms have raised concerns in our clime, the same way they have in other countries of the world – where a clear line is drawn between the pro and the anti-GMO citizens. Nonetheless, this modern biotechnological technique is still at its infancy here. As ...
Mosquito district workshop focuses on Keys trials
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Matthis, KEYSWEEKLY, 2020.
Now that the Oxitec “Friendly Mosquito” trials have been approved by the federal and state governments, it’s up to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to decide if, when and where to embrace the technology said to decrease the chances of mosquito-borne diseases such ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in Florida and Texas
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)O. Ron, The Jerusalem Post, 2020.
A plan to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas has been approved, The Guardian reported. According to the plan, the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes will be released into the wild, as they contain a special protein that would kill female offspring, ...
Before genetically modified mosquitoes are released, we need a better EPA
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)N. Kofler and J. Kuzma, The Boston Globe, 2020.
While the attention of the American public has rightfully been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, its associated racial disparities, and broader issues of structural racism, the US government made a serious public health decision — one that could affect our health and our ...
Florida gives approval to the plan of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes.
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)V. Dalmia, The Andoverleader, 2020.
Mosquitoes have always been a huge problem for Florida residents. They are even more problematic in the Florida Key Region. It has even a dedicated mosquito department that is assigned with the task of controlling over 40 species of mosquitoes. But as technology progresses, we ...
Are Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Coming To Florida?
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. Taylor, Y100, 2020.
I'm not even going to lie, mosquitoes should be classified under domestic terrorism. The flying, biting bugs you can barely see wreak havoc on my life every single summer. I'm not sure if I'm allergic to them, but whenever I'm bit by them, that area of my skin swells up. It's the ...
The Florida Keys are one step closer to getting genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2020.
An international biotech company is one step closer to being able to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services this week granted Oxitec an experimental use permit to release potentially millions of ...
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Approved For Insect Population Control In The U.S.
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. Blum, HUFFPOST, 2020.
Genetically modified mosquitoes with the ability to prevent other mosquitoes from spreading deadly diseases may be making their way to Florida backyards in the near future. British biotech group Oxitec announced on Tuesday that the company had won both federal and state ...
Florida says ‘this is fine’ to release of genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. K. Elliot, Global News, 2020.
That’s the question hanging over a recent decision by state regulators in Florida, which would allow the biotech company Oxitec to unleash hundreds of millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. The lab-altered, patented insects are members of Aedes ...
Plan to Release GMO Mosquitoes Moves Ahead
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Dier, newser, 2020.
A plan to set loose 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas will move forward despite concerns from environmentalists who liken it to a "Jurassic Park experiment." The non-biting male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes developed by British biotechnology company ...
Genetically engineered mosquitoes get EPA approval for Florida release despite objections from environmental groups
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. LaMotte, CNN Health, 2020.
A genetically modified male mosquito named OX5034 has received both state and federal approval to be released into the Florida Keys now through 2022, against the objection of many local residents and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups. "The administration has used ...
Florida Keys plans killer insect attack on disease-carrying mosquitoes
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)P. Brinkmann, UPI, 2020.
The Florida Keys is close to adding a new weapon to help control a mosquito-borne disease -- genetically modified mosquitoes that produce dead offspring. Outbreaks of dengue fever in the Keys in recent years prompted local authorities to consider the genetically modified bugs ...
Research team genetically modifies mosquito; now completing construction of full gene drive system
Tags: Culex, Gene drive syntheticUniversity of Hawaii, UH Hilo News, 2020.
A research group at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is currently completing construction of the full gene drive system of the Hawai‘i-sourced southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus), and plan to use CRISPR technology to insert it alongside an eye-color phenotype ...
Plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida gets go-ahead
Tags: Arbovirus, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)O. Milman, The Guardian, 2020.
A plan to release a horde of 750 million genetically modified mosqutioes in Florida and Texas is a step closer to fruition after a state regulator approved the idea, over the objections of many environmentalists.
EPA faces suit over plan to release genetically engineered mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. Frazin, The Hill, 2020.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a lawsuit over its approval of a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas
Species Extinction & the Case for a Global Moratorium on Gene Drives
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyM. Imken, ARC, 2020.
One million species are currently threatened with extinction, and humanity faces the challenge of stopping the sixth mass extinction in the history of our planet. Yet a new technology called Gene Drive enables human beings to reprogram wild species by genetic engineering and to ...
Fact check: Genetically modified mosquitoes are cleared for release in the US
Tags: Arbovirus, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Staver, USA Today, 2020.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved an experimental use permit May 1 that allows Oxitec to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys and Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located.
Scientists hope to release genetically-modified mosquitoes
Tags: Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Fox 13, Fox 13, 2020.
Apparently, scientists are interested in releasing genetically-modified mosquitoes in Florida in order to help battle the spread of certain diseases.
Scientist fight plant to release gene-hacked mosquitoes in TX, FL.
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Robitzski, Futurism, 2020.
Over the next two years, the biotech company Oxitec plans to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas in an attempt to stop the spread of diseases like dengue and Zika. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already approved the plan ...
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