Keywords: North America
As mosquitoes go year-round in L.A., a promising fix hits a snag
35516Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 2026-03-23 09:06:38.
Residents were supposed to get a respite from the ankle-nipping mosquitoes that fueled a recent surge in dengue fever in Los Angeles County. Typically, the invasive mosquitoes — called Aedes aegypti — essentially disappear from winter until early May in the region. Instead, complaints to local agencies tasked with controlling the pests spiked recently. “We have not seen them go away altogether like they have in previous years,” said Susanne Kluh, general manager for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. Their unusual presence adds to the urgency of work going on in a 40-foot shipping container tucked away in Pacoima. It's about to transform into a bustling nursery for tens of thousands of mosquitoes. This May, the district is set for the third year in a row to release legions of sterilized male mosquitoes — which don't bite — into parts of Sunland-Tujunga. The last two years were promising, with the female population in two treated neighborhoods plunging by an average of more than 80%. Yet business owners have signaled they're not willing to pay to expand it. That's thrown uncertainty into officials' goal of eventually bringing the approach to their whole service area, spanning 36 cities and unincorporated communities. “Unfortunately, that's going to be a rather expensive endeavor,” said Steve Vetrone, an assistant general manager for the district. “I can tell you right now that's not something that we can do with our current operating budget.”
Prairie grower groups fund research projects targeting canola diseases
35513Ian MacKay, Oyen Echo, 2026-03-17 08:56:22.
Three projects intended to deal with the canola disease verticillium stripe stand out among 11 research programs that a prairie growers consortium is funding this year. Leaders of the canola agronomic research program have chosen projects that they feel are “key to advancing canola productivity and mitigating production threats,” a statement said. The organization includes SaskOilseeds and similar Manitoba and Alberta grower groups, which together are spending over $2.4 million. Results Driven Agriculture Research in Alberta is supplying over $1 million and the Western Grains Research Foundation will chip in $495,000 to bring the total planned expenditure to over $4 million. “The genetic improvement and disease risks facing canola production need to be researched to find solutions,” said Laura Reiter of Radisson, who chairs the Western Grains Research Foundation. “As capacity among public research institutions decreases, grower-led investment isn't just an option anymore, it’s critical to the longevity of our industry,” said Cheryl Westman of Vermilion, who chairs Alberta Canola’s research program. A University of Calgary scientist heads a project titled “Discovering the verticillium longisporum genetic determinants of virulence,” a University of Manitoba scientist aims to test “biocontrol-based strategies” to deal with verticillium stripe in canola and another researcher from that university will use “genetic and molecular approaches” to increase canola’s resistance to verticillium stripe.
“Millions have been released.” Hawaii’s beautiful birds are dying. But scientists have a controversial plan to save them
35457James Fair, BBC Wildlife Magazine, 2026-02-24 09:58:30.
About 6-7 million years ago, common rosefinches – which are today found across a vast expanse of northern Eurasia and are even occasional winter visitors to the British Isles – island-hopped their way from the Russian Far East across the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the newly formed, volcanic land masses of Hawaii. There, a single species evolved into an extended family of 56 Hawaiian honeycreepers, many of which only barely resemble their pioneering ancestor. Take, for example, the gorgeous scarlet honeycreeper or i’iwi, with its huge downward curving bill that is perfectly adapted for extracting nectar from endemic Hawaiian flowers. At first glance, it looks nothing like a finch. It’s an amazing story, but also a tragic one, because according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, 39 of Hawaii’s honeycreepers are extinct, and 11 of the remaining 17 are threatened. One of the biggest factors in this natural history catastrophe is avian malaria. Neither the single-celled organism that causes malaria, nor the mosquito that transmits it, are native to Hawaii, so honeycreepers and other endemic birds have almost no immunity to it. All conservationists agree that something needs to be done – and quickly – if we are to save those that remain. Step forward scientists such as Tim Harvey-Samuel, an expert in arthropod genetics at the University of Keele. Harvey-Samuel and his team are seeing whether they can “modify the mosquito population in Hawaii such that it’s no longer able to transmit avian malaria.” The idea is to insert a gene into the mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) so that it doesn’t allow the Plasmodium protozoan that causes malaria to complete its life-cycle.
Genetically modified mice could fight Lyme disease in Massachusetts
35429Dave Puglisi, 7News, 2026-01-29 10:43:05.
Tiny insects are spreading a devastating disease. Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe they’ve discovered something that could help stop Lyme disease before it starts. “The right side of my body went numb. I felt disoriented. My heart was racing,” said Brandi Dean. Dean thought what she was experiencing was a stroke but it was actually the start of a 10-year battle with Lyme disease. “It’s a devastating illness, emotionally, physically, and financially,” she said. The illness began with a tick bite that spread bacteria throughout her body. “I was really struggling to just survive every day and to take care of my kids,” said Dean. Brandi pushed through muscle pain, dizziness and exhaustion so severe she couldn’t walk down the stairs. “I would literally scoot down each stair. I had very little energy to walk,” said Dean. “It was frightening at that time.” Doctor Sam Telford, a professor of infectious disease and global health at Tufts University, has studied ticks for more than 40-years. He says mice are a perfect host for several diseases ticks can spread. “They’re very good hosts for the bacteria. They suffer no disease from having the bacteria,” said Telford. “They pass it back-and-forth and us humans are collateral damage.”
Space Coast releases X-rayed skeeters to take bite out of dengue
35410Jim Waymer, Florida Today, 2026-01-29 10:40:25.
The Space Coast has unleashed 'nuked' skeeters in a new biological bid to neuter dengue fever. Last year, Brevard saw its first locally caught cases of the tropical disease and wound up with the most in Florida. In response, the county decided to let loose thousands of X-rayed male mosquitoes to zap the insect's next generation. Turns out an adult skeeter can survive X-ray doses more than 10 times what would kill humans. Unlike humans, once mature, most mosquito cells stop dividing, so radiation rushing through has fewer chances to distort most of its DNA. But X-rays will tear up the insect's reproductive genes enough to render the male mosquito sterile. That's among the reasons mosquito-control officials assure this time-tested method is safe and environmentally friendly. They emphasize that it's not anything like the much-more controversial gene modification of mosquitoes used in recent years in the Florida Keys. "When we're releasing, there's no voodoo," said Joe Faella, Brevard's mosquito control director.
Florida releases millions of genetically modified mosquitoes from Oxitec in the Florida Keys to try to reduce dengue and Zika by up to 95%, in a real-world experiment that divides residents and ushers in a new era of ecosystem editing.
35351Carla Teles, Click Petróleo e Gás, 2026-01-10 09:57:25.
In a quiet Florida neighborhood, things began with something that seemed mundane. Gray boxes started appearing in backyards and along the edges of mangrove swamps, accompanied by a simple instruction: fill with water and leave. Nobody saw anything special about them, just discreet containers scattered around the neighborhood. What almost nobody realized was that those boxes were capsules for a global experiment: from inside them would emerge millions of mosquitoes. Created in a laboratory, carrying a genetic code designed to attack their own species. In the following months, these boxes became the starting point for waves of millions of mosquitoes A laboratory experiment over the Florida Keys. For some residents, it looked like the beginning of an apocalyptic movie. For others, it was a desperate gamble to contain dengue and Zika outbreaks that had been approaching year after year. And behind it all was Oxitec, a British biotechnology company that transformed a common mosquito into a small flying genetic saboteur.
Sterile insect technique reduces cabbage maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) infestation in root crucifers in Canada
35337Anne-Marie Fortier, Allen Bush-Beaupré, Jade Savage, et al., Journal of Economic Entomology, 118:2710–2717. 2026-01-07 11:20:58.
The cabbage maggot (Delia radicum (L.)) is a major pest of brassica vegetables in Canada that has traditionally been managed with soil-applied insecticides. However, recent regulatory restrictions on key products such as chlorpyrifos have created a pressing need for alternative solutions. This study evaluates the sterile insect technique (SIT) as a control method for the cabbage maggot in root crucifers. Large-scale field trials conducted from 2019 to 2022 in Quebec (Canada) demonstrated significant reductions in D. radicum infestations in radish and daikon crops. Quality control measures confirmed the effectiveness of sterilization on cabbage maggot, with minimal impact on male performance. The results suggest that the SIT is a promising, environmentally friendly alternative to chemical control for cabbage maggot management. The study further highlights the importance of optimizing release strategies and improving predictive models to guide deployment. Overall, the SIT offers growers a viable option to reduce reliance on insecticides while maintaining crop health and yield.
Genetically engineered mice could take the bite out of Lyme disease on Nantucket, scientists say
35149Jon LaPook, Denise Schrier Cetta, Aliza Chasan, Katie Brennan, CBS News, 2025-09-21 10:07:27.
Over the past 40 years, Dr. Timothy Lepore has been the emergency room head, sole surgeon and medical examiner on Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Today he runs the only private practice, where he treats dozens of patients with Lyme disease each year. About 15% of residents on the island have been afflicted with the disease, which can cause a wide range of symptoms like a fever, rash, facial paralysis, an irregular heartbeat and arthritis. Lepore, 80, may finally be able to retire if a team of scientists' dream to curb the transmission of Lyme disease on the island becomes a reality. The scientists' target is not the deer or ticks often associated with the disease: it's wild mice, the main host of Lyme bacteria. The hope is that by genetically engineering mice to be immune to Lyme and releasing them in Nantucket, the population of mice able to spread Lyme disease on the island will shrink. The problem on Nantucket can be traced back to 1926, when the community voted to import two female deer to the island to give a lone buck company. On top of that, by the 1950s, half the land on the island was put into conservation. The untamed brush and wild grasslands create an ideal ecosystem for Lyme's hosts to thrive. As the deer population grew, so did the population of ticks. Deer don't get Lyme, but female ticks feed on them, and then lay as many as 2,000 eggs in a single batch. Deer also spread the disease as thousands of them carry ticks across Nantucket. Not all ticks carry Lyme disease, and a tick bite doesn't guarantee the transmission. Even if the tick is carrying Lyme, the tick has to be attached for more than 24 hours to infect someone.
Development and evaluation of pupal color-based genetic sexing strains in Anastrepha obliqua
35116Daisy P. Cárdenas-Enríquez, Víctor García-Martínez, Jorge Ibáñez-Palacios, et al., Insect Science, 2025-09-08 08:23:07.
Anastrepha obliqua, a neotropical pest widely distributed in the Americas, attacks mango and other tropical fruits. In Mexico, it is controlled through integrated pest management, using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as a main component. The applicability of SIT is significantly improved with the use of genetic sexing strains (GSS) that allow the possibility to release exclusively sterile males, the primary component of the technique. This study reports the isolation and characterization of two pupal mutations: black pupae (bp) and sphere pupae (sp), allowing for the first time the development of a genetic sexing system based on pupal color in this species. Inheritance analyses from reciprocal crosses between wild-type and mutant individuals showed F2 phenotypic segregation consistent with a recessive Mendelian inheritance pattern, and linkage analysis indicated that the bp and sp loci are in separate chromosomes. Using the bp mutation, two GSS were developed through gamma irradiation [T(Y;bp+)/bp-22](GSS-22) and ethyl methanesulfonate treatment [T(Y;bp+)/bp-354](GSS-354). Both GSS exhibited sex-specific pupal differentiation but displayed a high frequency of recombinants. Despite an initial reduction in biological fitness, GSS-22 demonstrated greater genetic stability and a lower frequency of recombinants than GSS-354. Discrepancies between cytogenetic and genomic data, particularly regarding the localization of the gene responsible for the black pupae phenotype, underscore the need to integrate polytene chromosome and genomic analyses to characterize these translocations and improve GSS stability precisely. These results represent a breakthrough in the creation of genetic tools for the management of A. obliqua control.
EPA assessing risk of releasing genetically engineered mosquitoes
35046Gary West, Capital Press, 2025-08-22 17:02:34.
The Environmental Protection Agency has convened a scientific panel to help assess whether genetically engineered mosquitoes could pose a risk to humans. In a paper released Aug. 21, the EPA said that as science advances it expects more proposals to control mosquitoes by releasing males with an implanted trait that prevents their offspring from surviving. Male mosquitoes don’t bite humans, only female mosquitoes bite. But if a female mosquito picks up the genetic flaw, such as a new protein, the protein could be passed onto humans, according to the EPA. The EPA expects the number of genetically engineered female mosquitoes to be low, and it hasn’t determined whether the proteins would be hazardous to humans. But it’s looking to identify the best way to confirm a female mosquito’s salvia doesn’t have novel proteins. The test will help the EPA to assess the risk of exposure to humans. “Female mosquitoes bite humans as a means of reproductive survival and, as a result, this interaction results in a plausible pathway of exposure to novel proteins,” the EPA stated.
How biotech helps Florida Keys prevent mosquito-borne diseases
35029Janine Stanwood, Local 10, 2025-08-17 19:49:34.
Biologists with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) are releasing lab-modified mosquitoes twice a week in the Middle Keys. It’s part of a pilot program to reduce the population and help stop people from getting bitten. “They’re male Aedes aegypti,” said Dr. Larry Hribar, FKMCD Director of Research. “They’re infected with a mosquito parasite that’s in the genus Wolbachia.” There are dozens of species of blood suckers in South Florida, including the nuisance salt marsh mosquito found in mangroves and in the Everglades. But it’s the Aedes aegypti that carries diseases like Zika and dengue. “That’s the one that vector the diseases we worry about,” said FKMCD spokesperson Chad Huff. The males, shipped from a company called MosquitoMate, have been infected with the Wolbachia bacteria before mating with females after being released. “They’ll find a local female, they’ll mate, but the eggs she produces are not going to be viable,” Hribar said. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the lab-infected mosquitoes can’t make people or animals sick.
Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped by drone over islands in Hawaii. Here’s why
34999Nell Lewis, CNN, 2025-07-31 15:47:51.
In June, dozens of biodegradable pods fell from the sky over the forests of Hawaii. Each one, delivered by drone, contained about 1,000 mosquitoes. These weren’t just any mosquitoes — they were non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes carrying a common bacterium that results in eggs that don’t hatch when the males mate with wild females. The hope is that they will help to control the archipelago’s invasive mosquito population, which is decimating native bird populations, such as rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. The birds, which are key pollinators and seed dispersers and also play a central role in Hawaiian culture, are in dire straits. There were once more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, but today there are only 17 left, most of which are endangered. Last year, the ‘akikiki, a small gray bird, went functionally extinct in the wild, and less than 100 of the yellow-green ʻakekeʻe are estimated to remain. Development and deforestation have had an impact, but according to Dr. Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the “existential threat” is avian malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes.
Vector Control District Plans Experimental Mosquito Control Program
34982Contributing Editor, MyNewsLA.com, 2025-07-24 09:51:29.
Batches of irradiated male mosquitoes are slated for release Wednesday in Lake Elsinore with the goal of pairing the modified insects with as many females as possible to kill off the overall mosquito population, under an experimental program that apparently hasn’t generated concerns among public officials. The “Sterile Insect Technique Pilot Program” is being managed by the Northwest Mosquito & Vector Control District, which serves segments of western Riverside County. The district is believed to be the first countywide to inaugurate an SIT mosquito control program. Questions regarding when it was authorized, the estimated number of modified mosquitoes that will be released and any potential public health risks were not answered by the agency as of Tuesday afternoon. Lake Elsinore officials also did not respond to requests for comment. The West Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District, which encompasses Ontario, Montclair and neighboring municipalities in San Bernardino County, was the first district in California to receive authorization from state regulators to initiate mosquito SIT releases last year, under a pilot program similar to that of the Northwest Mosquito & Vector Control District. It’s still unknown whether West Valley’s experimental program has netted any benefits. “Sterile male mosquitoes are released to mate with local females, and the resulting eggs are unable to hatch,” NMVCD said in a statement regarding the Lake Elsinore program. “The release of adult male mosquitoes will not increase local bite pressure, as only female mosquitoes bite.”
Genetic discovery advances insect pest control worldwide
34968IAEA, Phys.org, 2025-07-09 10:29:16.
An international research team led by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and the Joint FAO/IAEA Center of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has identified the gene responsible for a temperature-sensitive lethality (tsl) phenotype in the Mediterranean fruit fly, solving a long-standing mystery. Their research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves the mass-rearing and sterilization using radiation of a target pest. Sterile males are then released over defined areas, where they mate with wild females, producing no offspring, which reduces the pest population. The SIT dates back to 1916, when scientists first used X-rays to induce sterility in insects. It was successfully implemented in the 1950s against the New World screwworm in the United States of America. Since then, SIT has become a globally recognized and target-specific method to suppress invasive and established insect populations of agriculture, veterinary and medical importance. The effectiveness and efficiency of SIT depends on reliably separating the sexes so that only sterile males are released in the field. A breakthrough came in the late 1980s with the discovery of the tsl mutation at the Joint FAO/IAEA Center's Insect Pest Control Laboratory. This was followed by the development of tsl-based genetic sexing in Ceratitis capitata, in which female offspring die at the embryonic stage following short-term heat treatment. This made it possible to produce sterile male flies at an industrial scale. Yet the gene underlying this effect remained unidentified for more than three decades, limiting the broader application of this approach to other insect species.
Rollins presses ahead with latest initiative on New World screwworm
34924HPJ staff, High Plains Journal, 2025-06-19 14:41:39.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on June 18 announced an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm fly dispersal facility in south Texas and a five-pronged plan to enhance the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ability to detect, control and eliminate the pest. In a media release, the USDA noted actions are necessary to finish the fight against NWS and protect the United States. NWS is a devastating pest that causes serious and often deadly damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans. While NWS has been eradicated from the U.S. for decades, recent detections in Mexico as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border, led to the immediate suspension of live cattle, horse and bison imports through U.S. ports of entry along the southern border on May 11. “The United States has defeated NWS before and we will do it again,” Rollins said. “We do not take lightly the threat NWS poses to our livestock industry, our economy, and our food supply chain. The United States government will use all resources at its disposal to push back NWS, and today’s announcement of a domestic strategy to bolster our border defenses is just the beginning. We have the proven tools, strong domestic and international partnerships, and the grit needed to win this battle.”
Drones To Deliver Millions Of Mosquitoes to Prevent Bird Extinctions In Hawai‘i
34913GrrlScientist, Forbes, 2025-06-11 19:19:54.
In a brilliant demonstration of multidisciplinary collaboration, a conservation program to save Hawai’i’s critically endangered native bird species has taken another step forward. After a team of scientists created “reproductively incompatible” male mosquitoes in the lab, the next challenge was to safely deliver them to where they would most effectively suppress mosquito populations in Hawai’i. “Reproductively incompatible” male mosquitoes are created by infecting their mothers with the bacteria, Wolbachia. This bacteria, which naturally occurs in many wild insect species, interferes with reproduction in mosquitoes by making the Wolbachia-males reproductively incompatible with normal wild-type female mosquitoes. (But the males can successfully reproduce with females infected with the same strain of Wolbachia – that is how the millions of mosquitoes needed for this project are produced in the lab.) When these reproductively incompatible Wolbachia-male mosquitoes mate with normal wild female mosquitoes, the resulting eggs cannot hatch, thereby reducing the mosquito population. The good news in this story (which will become important as you read on) is that male mosquitoes (regardless of whether they carry Wolbachia) do not bite or transmit disease, and feed only on plant juices and nectar for survival and energy. On the other hand, female mosquitoes do bite because they need a fresh blood meal to produce eggs. Additionally, because mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria are not genetically modified, and because Wolbachia bacteria naturally occur in 60% or more wild insects, these mosquitoes are safe.
Overview of the sterile insect technique for Aedes aegypti in Lee County, Florida, USA
34841Morreale, R., Stenhouse, S., Bajonero, J. et al., Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 14. 2025-05-12 20:10:08.
Lee County Mosquito Control District (LCMCD) is an independent taxing district that works to protect human health and improve quality of life in Lee County, Florida, USA. With local dengue transmission in southern Florida, LCMCD prioritized the control of Aedes aegypti. Due to the cryptic larval habitats of Ae. aegypti and insecticide resistance, effective control using conventional methods is difficult. Thus, the sterile insect technique (SIT) program, using X-ray irradiated male mosquitoes, was created to target Ae. aegypti. The goal of this program was to suppress Ae. aegypti through establishing a robust SIT program and performing a pilot study in the field to assess the impacts of SIT releases. The SIT program at LCMCD released sterile male Ae. aegypti from 2020 to 2022 in Captiva Island, Florida. The SIT program works within a larger Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM) framework and is not a standalone tool. The SIT program consists of nine employees, one of which is dedicated to quality assurance. Quality assurance assessments are performed routinely and periodically. Due to widespread destruction throughout Captiva and Sanibel Islands from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, the SIT pilot in Captiva Island was concluded and moved to Fort Myers, Florida. During the pilot study on Captiva Island, various lessons were learned and this knowledge has been applied to efforts in Fort Myers. LCMCD has established a successful SIT program to suppress populations of Ae. aegypti. Through connections with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the University of Florida, LCMCD received guidance from experts in the field to help ensure the program’s success. Stable funding through taxes levied specifically for mosquito control provided essential consistency, allowing the program to grow and evolve. Consistent trapping routines provided immense amounts of entomological data. Thoughtful and intentional community engagement was essential in ensuring acceptance of the SIT program in Lee County. Following the phased conditional approach suggested by IAEA, LCMCD has built an effective and resilient SIT program. The integration of the SIT as a tool of an area-wide mosquito control program is a feature that distinguishes LCMCD’s SIT program from others.
Genetically modified mosquitoes released in the US: How they can prevent disease outbreaks
34732TOI Lifestyle Desk, Times of India, 2025-04-02 16:42:21.
The menace of mosquito-borne illnesses is growing in the US and the contributing factors range from climate change to their expanding habitats. The solution could lie in genetically modified mosquitoes that hold the capability to effectively control mosquito populations. Recently, genetically modified mosquitoes were released in Florida, US, following the successful trials in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Malaysia, where populations of aedes aegypti dropped by at least 90%. A significant step forward in preventing the deadly mosquito-borne illnesses, the bioengineered male aedes aegypti mosquitoes were introduced into the environment. While these deadly species make up for 4% of the total local mosquito population, they are enough to wreak havoc. It is to be noted that female aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the primary vectors that can transmit dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses to humans.
How genetically engineered mice could stop the spread of Lyme disease
33874Cristela Guerra and Stephanie Brown, WBUR Radio Boston, 2024-12-10 16:36:59.
New England has some of the highest rates of Lyme disease in the country. MIT researchers are trying to fight the disease in a project that involves releasing hundreds of thousands of engineered mice onto the shores of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. On Radio Boston, Kevin Esvelt, an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab and the inventor of CRISPR-based gene drive, discusses the project.
EPA, USDA, and FDA to Clarify Overlapping Biotechnology Regulatory Frameworks
30347Alan J. Sachs, Jack B. Zietman, The National Law Review, 2024-05-21 18:51:44.
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a joint plan to identify areas of ambiguity, gaps, or uncertainty in their coordinated regulation of biotechnology products. Consistent with a directive issued by President Biden in September 2022, the agencies’ plan identifies specific issues that each has either recently addressed or will work to address to promote such products’ safe use. President Biden’s executive order defined “biotechnology” as “technology that applies to or is enabled by life sciences innovation or product development.” Biotechnology products thus may include organisms (plants, animals, fungi, or microbes) developed through genetic engineering or manipulation, products derived from such organisms, and products produced via cell-free synthesis. These products may, in turn, be regulated under the overlapping statutory frameworks of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act (FFDCA), Plant Pest Act (PPA), Federal Meat Inspection Act, Poultry Products Inspection Act, and more. Therefore, close coordination between EPA, USDA, and FDA is essential to ensure effective and efficient regulation of biotechnology products.
Scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseases
29900CGTN, 2024-05-07 17:04:49.
Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects' gut microbes, which might be used as an alternative to controversial experiments that see genetically-modified mosquitoes released in Florida. Mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue and Zika, cause several potentially fatal human viral infections. Dengue viruses infect approximately 390 million each year globally. An epidemic survey over the past decade documented frequent dengue outbreaks in Xishuangbanna and Lincang, both in southwest China's Yunnan Province. But few have been reported in neighboring cities of Wenshan and Pu'er. The marked different prevalence stimulated the curiosity of researchers from Tsinghua University and the Yunnan Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Sciences.
Mosquito Control releases over 100K sterile male mosquitos to combat Aedes aegypti population
28978NBC2 News, 2024-03-05 14:41:50.
Mosquito Control releases over 100K sterile male mosquitos to combat Aedes aegypti population
Maui ‘ground zero’ for release of billions of biopesticide lab-altered mosquitoes
28929Michael Nevradakis, LifeSite, 2024-02-27 16:57:41.
Up to 775,992,000 bacteria-infected mosquitoes could be released in Maui every week for the next 20 years, according to Hawaii Unites, an environmental advocacy group that last month lost its bid to require the state to conduct an environmental impact statement before allowing the controversial project to proceed. Hawaii Unites in May 2023 sued the state in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit in Hawaii. The group’s president and founder, Tina Lia, told The Defender: "These biopesticide lab-altered mosquitoes are already being released in East Maui. Hawaii Unites has taken the state to court seeking a ruling to require an environmental impact statement for the project and comprehensive studies of the risks". She said Hawaii Unites describes itself as “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and protection of our environment and natural resources,” with a focus on “protecting the health of Hawai‘i’s people, wildlife, and the ‘āina from the State of Hawaii’s biopesticide bacteria-infected mosquito experiment.”
Judge sides with Hawaii to block challenge to mosquito release plan
28925Candice Cheung, Courthouse News Service, 2024-02-27 16:29:17.
A planned program to save endemic Hawaiian birds from avian malaria by releasing thousands of biopesticide mosquitoes into Maui’s rainforest will go on, despite an attempt by an environmental nonprofit to block the project.First Circuit Court Judge John Tonaki ruled Tuesday in favor of the state of Hawaii, its Department of Land and Natural Resources and conservationists to block a lawsuit claiming the state agency did not complete a proper environmental evaluation of program aimed at curbing mosquito population to prevent them from spreading avian malaria.“This is a victory for our endangered forest birds who some native Hawaiians consider their ancestors,” Dawn Chang, chair of the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement. “The HEPA is an important tool that enables decisionmakers to assess environmental impacts — not the sword by which misinformation kills a project, aimed at saving native species.”
EPA Authorized Release Of 2 Billion More GMO Mosquitos
27606T. Mateescu, Health Thoroughfare, 2023-08-09 07:34:11.
A biotechnology company called Oxitec has produced genetically modified mosquitoes named GE mosquitoes. These mosquitoes are being released in the U.S. for a real-world experiment. Oxitec is using Aedes aegypti (A. aegypti) mosquitoes for this experiment. This species is known to carry diseases like yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile, and Mayaro, a dengue-like disease. Oxitec genetically engineered the males of this species to carry a “genetic kill switch.” When they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherit the lethal gene, and they cannot survive or reproduce in the wild. Oxitec is marketing these insects as “Oxitec Friendly” mosquitoes in the U.S.
Malaria Cases In U.S. Trigger Unfounded Claims About Bill Gates, Mosquito Project
26378B. Y. Lee, Forbes, 2023-07-01 07:03:59.
When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert about finding four malaria cases in Florida and one malaria case in Texas, it created quite a buzz. After all, these were the first reported cases of people actually catching malaria in the U.S. since 2003. Finding these five cases has raised questions about whether malaria may return to the U.S. after being largely absent for many years and whether climate change may be opening the gates for Anopheles mosquitoes to spread in the U.S. That would kind of suck since the females of certain Anopheles mosquito species can carry and transmit malaria-causing parasites. This news also opened the gates in another way—allowing a flood of even more conspiracy theories about billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates to be spread across social media. This included claims that Gates was somehow responsible for these new malaria cases via a project that has released genetically-modified mosquitoes in the U.S. However, such claims really provided zzzzzero supporting evidence and, in fact, detracted from what’s really happened.
Draft environmental assessment released for using modified mosquitoes to save native birds on Kauaʻi
26244Anonymous, Big Island NOW, 2023-06-23 07:24:12.
Today, the draft environmental assessment was made public for the use of Wolbachia-based incompatible male mosquitoes on Kauaʻi to stop the spread of avian malaria that is decimating native forest bird populations. The public has 31 days — from June 23 until July 24 — to comment on the draft, which was released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Hawaiʻi’s forest birds are facing an extinction crisis, with avian malaria a major factor. It is transmitted by non-native mosquitoes and just a single bite from an infected mosquito can be deadly. Of Kauaʻi’s 16 native honeycreepers, 10 have gone extinct and three are listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered.
Draft environmental assessment for use of Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique for the suppression of nonnative southern house mosquito populations on Kauaʻi
26247Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2023-06-16 07:31:10.
The State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources hereby transmits the Draft Environmental Assessment and Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact (DEAEnvironmental Assessment for use of Wolbachia-based Incompatible Insect Technique for the suppression of nonnative southern house mosquito populations o Kaua'i to be published in the next available edition of The Environmental Notice.
Genetically Engineered Mosquito experiment in California’s Central Valley halted
25147H. Bourque, Friends of the Earth, 2023-05-12 14:52:46.
In a victory for environmentalists, scientists and vulnerable agricultural communities across California, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced yesterday the withdrawal of a permit request for a mass release of experimental genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Central Valley. The withdrawal of the biotech corporation Oxitec’s request halts the controversial proposed release of billions of genetically engineered insects. Scientists and other experts in the field have raised concerns about Oxitec’s proposal to release genetically engineered mosquitoes due to inadequate scientific review and lack of appropriate and relevant regulations, pressuring the company to disclose data critical to assessing potential public health and environmental impacts.
Oxitec’s mosquitoes are getting “friendly” with California
24109L. Patrick, The Sun Gazette, 2022-12-01 09:34:07.
Biotech company Oxitec is buzzing around Visalia, with the hopes of releasing their genetically engineered mosquitoes in Tulare County. Oxitec has one more hurdle to jump over in order to release their “friendly” Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Tulare County, and that’s to gain the approval of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Though their attempts to release their GE mosquitoes in California have been met with both supportive and hesitant reactions from different state agencies and environmental groups, Oxitec’s Dr. Kevin Gorman said the technology has been researched and reviewed with “much scrutiny,” despite claims that the mosquitoes are ineffective or hazardous. “We have a biological approach to managing pest insects, and the biological approach is a mating-based technology. It’s very targeted, it only affects the species that [they’re] mating with,” Gorman said. “Not only is it environmentally safe, it’s effective.” The male GE mosquitoes from Oxitec have been engineered with a self-limiting gene, and this gene infects wild female mosquitoes to prevent them from reproducing female offspring. This leaves only male mosquitoes in the gene pool, according to Gorman. Female mosquitoes are targeted since they are the only ones that bite, and therefore capable of transmitting diseases. The engineered males will only mate with Aedes aegypti females, and do not leave an environmental footprint, according to Gorman. The release of these mosquitoes is supposed to reduce the natural population of the invasive mosquito, which are known to carry diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever and others.
Calif. Legislature bites back at GE mosquito releases
23866L. Patrick, Sun Gazette, 2022-11-08 10:15:50.
A biotech company created millions of genetically modified mosquitoes, but not in the Jurassic Park sense. The lab grown species could actually lower the population of an invasive mosquito that carries a plethora of diseases on its shoulders.On Nov. 3, several members of the California legislature sent a letter to the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) asking it to delay the release of millions of genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes in Tulare County by Oxitec, a British biotech company, in the interest of further regulatory review. The GE mosquitoes are meant to lower the population of Aedes aegypti, an invasive mosquito that has been plaguing communities in the county for the last few years. However, members of the legislature are pushing for the DPR to resist the GE mosquitoes because of unforeseen effects they might have on people and the environment. This would be the first experimental release of of the non-biting mosquitoes, which OxiTec calls “friendly mosquitoes,” in Tulare County. Though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the release of the mosquitoes on March 7, the agency has been awaiting approval from DPR for several months, even after a 15-month scientific evaluation process and a 15-day public comment period that ended on April 19.
A sterile insect technique pilot trial on Captiva Island: defining mosquito population parameters for sterile male releases using mark–release–recapture
23818D. O. Carvalho, R. Morreale, S. Stenhouse, D. A. Hahn, M. Gomez, A. Lloyd and D. Hoel, Parasites and Vectors, 15:405. 2022-11-01 10:41:32.
The sterile insect technique (SIT), which involves area-wide inundative releases of sterile insects to suppress the reproduction of a target species, has proven to be an effective pest control method. The technique demands the continuous release of sterilized insects in quantities thatThe sterile insect technique (SIT), which involves area-wide inundative releases of sterile insects to suppress the reproduction of a target species, has proven to be an effective pest control method. The technique demands the continuous release of sterilized insects in quantities that ensure a high sterile male:wild male ratio for the suppression of the wild population over succeeding generations. Over the course of seven mark-release-recapture studies using single- and multiple-point releases, 190,504 sterile marked males were released, for which the recapture rate was 1.5% over a mean period of 12 days. The mean distance traveled by sterile males of the local strain of Ae. aegypti that has colonized Captiva Island was 201.7 m from the release point, with an observed maximum traveled distance of 404.5 m. The released sterile mosquitoes had a probability of daily survival of 0.67 and an average life expectancy of ~ 2.46 days.s These data together with the population size estimate and sterile:wild ratio provide a solid basis for planning the SIT operational phase which is aimed at mosquito population suppression. ensure a high sterile male:wild male ratio for the suppression of the wild population over succeeding generations.
How We’re Reducing Disease With Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
23667V. Wise, HealthMatch, 2022-09-29 08:07:21.
We all know mosquitoes as those annoying insects we swat away from our faces. They carry diseases, so we don’t want them anywhere near us. There are over 200 types of wild mosquitoes bugging us across America and the U.S. territories. Approximately 12 types can spread disease, but most are “nuisance” mosquitoes, which don’t spread germs. Obviously, it’s hard to identify a tiny flying creature, so we need to keep them all away from us just in case. Aedes aegypti¹ is one of the most common mosquitoes in the U.S. that can spread disease. One of the best-known mosquito-borne diseases is malaria, but Aedes aegypti is associated with 54 viruses². West Nile virus, Zika, and dengue are just three diseases these mosquitoes transmit around the U.S With 1 in 150 people becoming seriously ill due to West Nile virus, sometimes fatally, what can we do to prevent mosquito bites?
Fact Check: Bill Gates’ genetically modified mosquitoes are responsible for mosquito-borne viruses in Florida and are part of the next planned pandemic.
23542A. Williams, The Paradise, 2022-09-09 06:00:08.
The genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida are part of a project by Oxitec that Bill Gates did not fund. The virus reported in Florida is the West Nile virus, which has had reported cases in most U.S. states since 1999, with lower cases in 2022 than in previous years. The virus has no correlation to the release of the mosquitoes by Oxitec, and no reports have mentioned they have caused harm. The belief that pandemics are planned by governmental or global business is a known conspiracy and unsubstantiated. Therefore, this claim has been marked as false.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District & Oxitec Announce Launch of Next Phase of Ground-Breaking Project
23093Oxitec, Oxitec, 2022-06-30 07:38:27.
In a continuation of the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project, Oxitec and FKMCD announced that a new phase of the project (“Pilot D”) will be initiated on or after July 7th, 2022. This phase of the project will examine single-point releases of Oxitec’s male mosquitoes. In March of this year the EPA granted an extension of the Experimental Use Permit (EUP) for the continuation of this pilot project. Following this national-level approval, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), reviewed and approved Oxitec’s state-level permit applications. The 2022 project launched with Pilot B during the week of May 9th, with the placement of Oxitec’s just-add-water mosquito boxes on private property of volunteer residents in three release areas, all on Vaca Key. Untreated comparison sites are monitored with mosquito traps on Key Colony Beach and Vaca Key.
Inside the Plan to Release Life-Saving Mosquitoes
22903WIRED, 2022-06-10 06:28:48.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District is turning towards a novel tool to combat harmful insecticide-resistant mosquitoes like the Aedes aegypti. What are they doing exactly? They're releasing millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes engineered to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti. How exactly does this work? We'll break it down.
Mosquito control to save Hawaiian honeycreepers does not involve GMOs
22859Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2022-06-08 08:42:00.
Despite misinformation circulating on social media, the importation of “incompatible-male” mosquitoes to control populations of wild mosquitoes and to save four native bird species from extinction, does not involve the use of any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) organisms. On Thursday, the Plant and Animal Advisory Committee of the Dept. of Agriculture will consider listing three species of mosquitoes on its Restricted Species List A. The listing would allow the importation of three species of mosquitoes, all of which are already present in Hawai‘i. One of these, the Southern House Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) isresponsible for sharp declines in the populations of many honeycreeper species on Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island. The other two species – Yellow Fever Mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) – transmit human diseases.
Mosquitoes Genetically Modified to Stop Disease Pass Early Test
22448L. Rapaport, WebMD, 2022-05-09 08:57:53.
Genetically modified mosquitoes released in the U.S. appear to have passed an early test that suggests they might one day help reduce the population of insects that transmit infectious diseases. As part of the test, scientists released nearly 5 million genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes over the course of 7 months in the Florida Keys. Male mosquitoes don’t bite people, and these were also modified so they would transmit a gene to female offspring that causes them to die before they can reproduce. In theory, this means the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes would die off over time, so they wouldn’t spread diseases any more. The goal of this pilot project in Florida was to see if these genetically modified male mosquitoes could successfully mate with females in the wild, and to confirm whether their female offspring would indeed die before they could reproduce. On both counts, the experiment was a success, Oxitec, the biotechnology company developing these engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, said in a webina
Setting the world’s deadliest animal to self-destruct
22210A. Ossola, QUARTZ, 2022-05-08 15:29:34.
The mosquitoes are coming - and the, hopefully, they're going. This wee, British biotech company Oxitec plans to kick off a months-long experiment in which it will release billions of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in California and Florida. But these aren't just any mosquitoes - they're genetically engineered so that they don't bite and will, if all goes according to plan, eventually reduce the population of mosquitoes in these areas.
State of Florida approves release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes
22216H. Crawford, FIRSTCOAST NEWS, 2022-05-04 15:34:00.
The state of Florida has given the green light to Oxitec, a U-K biotechnology company, to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Monroe County starting this Spring. It’s a controversial pilot program that began in the Florida Keys in 2021 to evaluate the effectiveness of Oxitec mosquitoes to control the invasive, disease-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito. According to an email obtained by First Coast News, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) approved extending the experimental use permit on Tuesday. The department says it does not and will not be making a formal announcement related to the issuance of any pesticide registration. “Yesterday, FDACS authorized the distribution and experimental use of OX5034 AEDES AEGYPTI (EPA EUP NO. 93617-EUP-2) in Florida,” an email from the Division of Agricultural Environmental Services read. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has been working with Oxitec on field trials. Since 2021, millions of genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been strategically released in Monroe County as part of the Oxitec Mosquito Project. In March, the EPA approved the release of 2.4 billion more in Monroe County and California over the next two years under an experimental use permit. Oxitec had to get approval from each state before proceeding. The mosquitoes are designed to kill biting females before they mature.
Brit firm sparks fury after ‘releasing genetically modified mosquitoes’ into wild
22069C. Lawrence-Jones, Daily Star, 2022-04-29 07:17:13.
A British company has sparked fury after releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild that critics say could produce new strains of super-mozzies. UK-based Oxitec say they've hacked the insects' genetic make up and hope it will ultimately kill off all-female offspring wiping out huge colonies of the bug. Mosquitoes are some of the deadliest creatures in the world with mosquito-borne diseases killing around a million people every year. In time, Oxitec argue, the hybrids could wipe out mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and yellow fever. But the experimental release in California and Florida Keys, an island chain at the very tip of Florida in the U.S. has angered critics.
First U.S. Open-Air Test of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Deemed a Success
21786S. Kuta, Smithosonian Magazine, 2022-04-21 06:47:16.
A private company that released genetically modified mosquitoes into the open air of the Florida Keys last spring says the experiment was a success, reports Emily Waltz for Nature. Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based biotech firm initially founded at Oxford University, released the bugs in an effort to curb wild mosquito populations. The company has not yet published data from the experiment, but representatives said during a webinar earlier this month that the results were promising. Oxitec had already tested the genetically modified mosquitoes in the field in Brazil, Panama, the Cayman Islands and Malaysia, according to Nature, but this was the first open-air trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States.
Genetically modified mosquitoes for controlling vector-borne diseases? Successful trial gives hope
21821T. Deol, Down To Earth, 2022-04-21 06:07:50.
Preliminary results of an open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes — with an aim to suppress a wild population of virus-carrying mosquitoes — in the United States have shown promising results. The aim of the experiment by Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based biotechnology firm, is to reduce the population of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that is a vector for viruses such as chikungunya, dengue, zika and yellow fever. The scientists engineered a gene that will kill the female offspring. The results, achieved after a decade-long fight for public acceptance and regulatory approvals, are not enough. Larger studies are needed to understand whether the goal can be achieved or not. Their findings, yet to be published, were released during a webinar on 6 April. The experiment began in April 2021 in the Florida Keys but not without resistance from the residents. Their concerns ranged from the modified mosquitoes harming people, its impact on mosquito-eating species and other unintended consequences such as the emergence of a deadly virus.
Release of genetically modified mosquitoes created to fight disease a success: Biotech firm
21818C. Greenberg, National Post, 2022-04-20 06:03:19.
The release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States created to fight disease has gone according to plan, biotechnology firm Oxitec says.The first phase of the pilot study consisted of releasing almost 5 million modified Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, a group of islands off the southern tip of Florida, in April 2021. The results indicated that the method may eventually succeed in eradicating or downsizing the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti only make up 4 per cent of the mosquito population in the Keys, but are responsible for spreading yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus, Oxitec said during an online seminar revealing their findings on April 6. “The mosquito is very difficult to control. It likes to live around people, in houses, under houses,” said Andrea Leal, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. “We’re also seeing an increase in resistance to a number of our adulticide products that we use for mosquito control, so at the end of it, we’re looking for new tools to put in our toolbox to help us control this particular mosquito.”
Tests of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Prove Positive
21816R. Ellis, WebMD, 2022-04-20 05:59:18.
The first open-air study of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States has yielded positive results, says Oxitec, the UK-based company that ran the study. However, Oxitec says larger tests are needed to determine whether the insects can suppress the disease-spreading mosquito population in the wild, according to Nature. Dengue, Zika, and yellow fever are some of the diseases the experiments hope to reduce. Scientists at Oxitec mass produced and genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs in a lab. The males were released into the wild to mate with females and pass along a gene designed to kill the female offspring, which are the only ones that bite and spread the diseases. The male offspring live on.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Work as Intended
21814M. L. Ford, NEWSER, 2022-04-19 05:54:33.
Results are in from a pilot study in Florida, where millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes were released into the wild. Some referred to it as the “Jurassic Park” experiment when it was announced last year, but—so far—everything is going to plan, according to UK biotech firm Oxitec. Per Nature, the experiment is part of a long-term plan to develop new tools in the fight against the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry dengue, Zika, and other gnarly viruses. Genetically modified male mosquitoes were released into the wild to mate with the local females; as hoped, affected female offspring died before reaching adulthood, and male offspring carried the engineered gene. By the way, the engineered males and their offspring do not bite humans. Ultimately, the hope is to suppress if not eradicate A. aegypti; however, this phase was focused on ensuring that the method works. In addition to preventing reproduction, the gene was successfully passed to succeeding generations of males for three months, and then it disappeared from the local population. Oxitec’s work is EPA-approved, and it works closely with state wildlife agencies. Similar experiments will soon begin in California. “I like the way they’re going about it,” Thomas Scott, an entomologist at UC-Davis, told Nature. “They’re doing it in a systematic, thoughtful way. So I’m encouraged.”
Biotech firm announces results from first US trial of genetically modified mosquito
21775E. Waltz, Nature, 2022-04-18 08:09:34.
Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States. The results, according to the biotechnology firm running the experiment, are positive. But larger tests are still needed to determine whether the insects can achieve the ultimate goal of suppressing a wild population of potentially virus-carrying mosquitoes. The experiment has been underway since April 2021 in the Florida Keys, a chain of tropical islands near the southern tip of Florida. Oxitec, which developed the insects, released nearly five million engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes over the course of seven months, and has now almost completed monitoring the release sites. Based in Abingdon, UK, the firm reported the first results from the experiment during a webinar on 6 April, although it has not yet published the data.
Potential Adverse Effects of GE Mosquitoes Unknown
21773B. Giuffre, The Epoch Times, 2022-04-17 08:04:34.
“Safe and sustainable.” That’s what Oxitec, a British biological pest control company, calls its genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) mosquito pesticide product. The company claims its product is nontoxic to humans and animals and won’t harm beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. The experiment’s goal is to test the use of GE mosquitoes for reducing the transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The method of action is post-CRISPR, but uses similar gene engineering technology—inserting a double whammy into the Aedes aegypti male mosquito: a lethal gene and a fluorescent gene (for tracking). “The goal here is not to kill mosquitoes,” said epidemiologist Thomas Scott of the GE mosquito projects in Science magazine, “It’s to prevent people from getting infected and sick and dying.”
The plan to release genetically engineered mosquitoes in California
21703M. Petersen, Phys Org, 2022-04-12 08:50:04.
In the mosquito breeding rooms of British biotech company Oxitec, scientists line up fresh eggs, each the size of a grain of salt. Using microscopic needles, the white-coated researchers inject each egg with a dab of a proprietary synthetic DNA. For four days, Oxitec technicians care for the eggs, watching for those that hatch into wriggling brown larvae. Those "injection survivors," as the company calls them, face a battery of tests to ensure their genetic modification is successful. Soon, millions of these engineered mosquitoes could be set loose in California in an experiment recently approved by the federal government. Oxitec, a private company, says its genetically modified bugs could help save half the world's population from the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread diseases such as yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue to humans. Female offspring produced by these modified insects will die, according to Oxitec's plan, causing the population to collapse. "Precise. Environmentally sustainable. Non-toxic," the company says on its website of its product trademarked as the "Friendly" mosquito.
Genetically-Modified Mosquitos Could Soon Be Released in California
21693A. Madrigal, KQED, 2022-04-12 08:31:27.
Millions of genetically-modified, non-biting mosquitoes may soon be set loose in California after federal regulators gave the green light to a study aimed at preventing transmission of diseases like Zika and dengue. British biotech firm Oxitech says its technology alters male mosquitos to only produce viable male offspring, leading to population declines as females die off. While it may sound like the plot of a horror movie, the company says the new process is safe and necessary to address the growing global threat of mosquito-borne diseases. But some scientists and other critics say it could create even more virulent mosquitos, among other health and environmental risks. We’ll discuss the plan, which still requires state approval.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes May Be Released in California, Experts Express Concern
21719Z. Papadakis, NEWSMAX, 2022-04-11 09:25:49.
Millions of genetically engineered mosquitos could soon be set loose in California in an effort to curb the disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito population — but some experts are concerned that it could backfire. On March 7, Oxitec, a private company, obtained a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release its mosquitos in specific districts in Florida and California. The company reasoned that its genetically modified insects could help to save the world half of the world's population from the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito which, according to Oxitec, increases the risk of transmission of dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, and other diseases. "Given the growing health threat this mosquito poses across the U.S., we're working to make this technology available and accessible," Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, said in a statement. "These pilot programs, wherein we can demonstrate the technology's effectiveness in different climate settings, will play an important role in doing so. We look forward to getting to work this year."
Will genetic modification of mosquitoes take a bite out of insects’ population?
21708N. Patel, KCRW, 2022-04-11 08:58:40.
An invasive species of aggressive “ankle biters” called the Aedes aegypti mosquito is now in LA, and it’s spreading quickly. These tiny vampires can lay eggs in a space as small as a water-filled bottle cap, and they carry diseases like yellow fever and dengue. A British company called Oxitec is now trying to eradicate them through genetic modification. Oxitec will release millions of modified mosquitoes that can only produce female offspring that will die. Without an ability to reproduce, the mosquito population will collapse. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted the company a permit to release their modified mosquitoes in San Bernardino, Fresno, Stanislaus, and Tulare Counties.
An army of genetically engineered mosquitoes is about to be released
21705M. Menard, KNX NEWS, 2022-04-11 08:53:53.
A British biotech company has been altering the DNA of mosquitoes with the goal of killing off a more dangerous breed capable of spreading deadly diseases. And now they’re preparing to release their “friendly mosquitoes” into the wild. In California. Aedes aegypti is an invasive breed of mosquito that has been rapidly spreading throughout the state since their first detection about 10 years ago. It is a known carrier of such diseases as yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue.
California’s first genetically modified mosquitoes may soon be released
21698A. M. Asperin, FOX11 Los Angeles, 2022-04-10 08:41:01.
How would you feel about a few genetically engineered mosquitoes flying into your neighborhood? It's a possibility after the US Environmental Protection Agency on Friday approved pilot projects of Oxitec's mosquitoes in specific districts in California and Florida. The next step is for applications to be submitted to state regulators, who must approve the project for it to move forward.
In California, an army of genetically engineered mosquitoes awaits release. Will it backfire?
21652M. Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 2022-04-08 15:00:55.
In the mosquito breeding rooms of British biotech company Oxitec, scientists line up fresh eggs, each the size of a grain of salt. Using microscopic needles, the white-coated researchers inject each egg with a dab of a proprietary synthetic DNA. For four days, Oxitec technicians care for the eggs, watching for those that hatch into wriggling brown larvae. Those “injection survivors,” as the company calls them, face a battery of tests to ensure their genetic modification is successful. Soon, millions of these engineered mosquitoes could be set loose in California in an experiment recently approved by the federal government. Oxitec, a private company, says its genetically modified bugs could help save half the world’s population from the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread diseases such as yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue to humans. Female offspring produced by these modified insects will die, according to Oxitec’s plan, causing the population to collapse.
Federal Government Approves Release of Millions of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in California
21681A. Jose, The Western Journal, 2022-04-08 08:10:32.
Genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes could soon buzz around in California and Florida after the federal government greenlighted a plan to release the insects in the states. The project is spearheaded by biotechnology firm Oxitec, which, among other things, specializes in biological pest control solutions. “Oxitec’s Friendly™ safe, non-biting male mosquitoes are designed to suppress local wild populations of disease-spreading mosquitoes,” Oxitec’s website states. According to the company, the genetically modified mosquitoes have a “self-limiting gene,” which ensures that when the “Friendly™ mosquito males mate with wild females, their offspring inherit a copy of this gene.” The gene stops female offspring from maturing into adulthood, culling their reproducibility. However, male offspring carrying the gene will survive and pass those on to their offspring, the company said.
Billions of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Are Set to Descend on California and Florida This Summer
21658J. Rossen, MENTAL FLOSS, 2022-04-06 15:11:44.
Californians may not know it on sight, but there’s going to be something different about their mosquitoes this summer. An invasive species of the bite-prone insects has been genetically modified in an attempt at controlling disease spread. According to Smithsonian, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved plans by biotech firm Oxitec to release 2.4 billion male Aedes aegypti mosquitos in both California and Florida that have been altered so their genes can only participate in producing surviving male offspring. (Females will die before reaching adulthood.) The insects will be introduced as eggs, which will then hatch when exposed to water. Because male mosquitoes do not bite, the theory is that a declining female mosquito population will reduce transmission of Zika, yellow fever, dengue, and other infectious diseases that can be passed on to humans from the bites. The goal is halting outbreaks before they begin. In 2021, Oxitec released 144,000 genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. The insects have also been introduced in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and India. While there is no spread of such diseases in California, the firm says a growing mosquito population could eventually pose a problem and that such pilot programs are necessary to assess effectiveness
Genetically modified mosquitoes, a potential antidote to deadly diseases
21634TRTWorld, TRTWorld, 2022-04-01 08:08:35.
The US approved the release of billions of genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce the transmission of diseases but critics point to possible unintended consequences. Can genetically modified animals combat the spread of deadly diseases? The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EFA) thinks so. The agency has approved the release of over 2 billion mosquitoes that were genetically altered specifically to reduce the transmission of deadly transmissible diseases such as Zika, chikungunya, dengue, and yellow fever.The program in Florida and California will be put into action by the British biotechnology company Oxitec that genetically modify the mosquitos, mainly male Aedes aegypti eggs, in a lab. The mosquitos then will mate with females, only to pass the modified gene that would kill the female offspring. As a result, only the male offspring will stay alive as only the female ones spread the disease. The project also needs the approval of both states’ regulators and will be carried out in partnership with the Delta Mosquito and Vector Control district in Tulare county.
Why a U.S. Company Plans to Release 2.4 Billion Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
21569M. Osborne, Smithosonian Magazine, 2022-03-30 12:35:35.
The Environmental Protection Agency has cleared the release of 2.4 billion genetically-modified mosquitoes in California and Florida. The mosquitoes, created by biotech firm Oxitec, will be non-biting Aedes aegypti males engineered to only produce viable male offspring, per the company. Oxitec says the plan will reduce numbers of the invasive Aedes aegypti, which can carry diseases like Zika, yellow fever and dengue. Female mosquitoes will die, while males will reproduce and spread the self-limiting gene to the next generation, eventually leading to population declines. While these diseases aren’t yet spreading in California, the invasive insect has been flagged as a growing risk as their numbers increase across the state, reports the Guardian’s Gabrielle Canon. “Given the growing health threat this mosquito poses across the U.S., we’re working to make this technology available and accessible,” Oxitec CEO Grey Frandsen says in a statement. “These pilot programs, wherein we can demonstrate the technology’s effectiveness in different climate settings, will play an important role in doing so.”
US poised to release 2.4bn genetically modified male mosquitoes to battle deadly diseases
21571G. Canon, The Guardian, 2022-03-26 12:38:38.
Genetically modified male mosquitoes may soon be buzzing across areas of California, in an experiment to stop the spread of invasive species in a warming climate. Earlier this month, the EPA cleared the UK-based biotech company Oxitec to release a maximum of roughly 2.4bn of its genetically modified mosquitoes through 2024, expand its existing trial in Florida and start a new pilot project in California’s Central Valley, where mosquito numbers are on the rise. Oxitec’s modified mosquitoes are male, and therefore don’t bite. They were developed with a special protein so that when they pair with a female mosquito the only viable offspring they produce are also non-biting males. The project specifically targets the Aedes aegypti mosquito, one of more than 3,500 mosquito species and a dangerous invasive insect that has spread diseases like dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, and yellow fever in other countries.
Millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes are here to protect us
21551M. Kaufman, MASHABLE, 2022-03-26 12:06:29.
Aedes aegypti almost certainly traveled to California in cargo, like many invasive species do. The species, which flourishes in warmer climes, has colonized places like Los Angeles County, and is expected to multiply and spread in these temperate regions as the climate continuously warms. The invasive species has already thrived in the Gulf states for centuries. Crucially, Aedes aegypti aren't simply an itchy annoyance (the females voraciously bite for blood meals): The mosquitoes spread viral diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika, among others. Future outbreaks in new and old parts of the U.S. have a realistic, unsettling potential. To prepare, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently allowed for the carefully regulated, experimental release of over 2.4 million genetically-modified mosquitoes in California and Florida over the next couple of years. It's a pilot project intended to prove that Aedes aegypti populations can be repressed by genetically-altered mosquitoes. The modified mosquitoes are non-biting males carrying a manipulated gene that, after mating, kills the insects' offspring. The biotechnology company Oxitec devised this mosquito-control strategy, and will run the tests.
A scourge of genetically modified mosquitoes could be unleashed in California
21236J. Bote, SFGATE, 2022-03-21 05:16:37.
A genetically modified scourge of mosquitoes could be unleashed throughout California as municipalities across the state grapple with increasing bouts of an invasive mosquito species. The mosquitoes, developed by the British biotech firm Oxitec, are known as OX5034 — a modified male version of Aedes aegypti, the species that first emerged in Los Angeles County about a decade ago before spreading to at least 22 different counties across the state. They are an invasive species known to carry dengue, Zika and a host of other diseases, and naturally spread in contained, urban spaces with standing water, such as flowerpots and open water bottles. Up to 2 million OX5034 mosquitoes could be released in the coming years throughout the state, pending state approval by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The male species, which naturally do not bite humans, carry a gene that will ensure that female offspring do not grow into childhood. Male offspring, however, will survive — and continue to pass down the gene to further generations, hopefully eradicating the invasive species for good.
Billions of GE Mosquitoes May Soon Be Released in California and Florida
21009A. N. Mitra, Earth Island Journal, 2022-03-16 06:18:31.
he US Environmental Protection Agency’s decision last week to allow the release of billions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in California and Florida has several environmental and public health groups worried about the potential impacts of the experimental releases on public health and the environment. The EPA move follows last year’s pilot field trial in the Florida Keys where, starting April 2021, the British biotechnology company Oxitec and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control released half a billion of these transgenic mosquitoes. The purpose was to test if they could help reduce populations of Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species that can carry viruses that cause deadly diseases like yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika — none of which are major concerns in the United States.
California’s first lab-grown mosquitoes may take flight—stirring controversy
21022L. M. Krieger, Phys Org, 2022-03-15 06:51:22.
A biotech firm is seeking permission to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the open air of California for the first time later this year, aiming to reduce the expanding populations of invasive mosquitoes and prevent deadly disease. The controversial research project—planned for the Tulare County community of Visalia, with potential expansion into Fresno, San Bernadino and Stanislaus counties—will over time introduce 2 million male mosquitoes with a "kill switch" built into their DNA. When they mate with wild insects, their offspring die, causing an eventual collapse of the population. Their target: Swarms of the mosquito, first detected in Los Angeles County in 2011, which have since spread northward into 20 California counties. While California's native mosquito emerges at dusk, these black-and-white-striped invaders hunt for blood during the day, when people are outside. Elsewhere, they transmit potentially fatal Zika, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and other viruses.
Genetically modified mosquitoes kill their own offspring
21024C. Ward, SYFY, 2022-03-14 06:55:40.
Oxitec, a biotech company, has developed a strain of A. aegypti which they call Friendly. Their modified mosquitos are all males and carry a gene which prevents the birth of females in subsequent generations. In short, they’re reducing disease-carrying mosquitos by killing their babies before they hatch. The Environmental Protection Agency has granted permission for the release of the experimentally modified mosquitos in Florida, and those same mosquitos may soon be released in California. While the federal government has agreed to the program, permission must also be obtained from the states where the releases will occur before they can proceed. Should California grant permission, populations of modified mosquitos could be released in Stanislaus, Fresno, Tulare, and San Bernadino counties soon. Once released, modified male mosquitos breed with wild females, delivering the desired gene sequence to the next generation. Any females in the next generation are terminated before being born and all males which are produced carry the same gene, allowing them to continue the cycle through several generations. Oxitec considers the modification inherently self-limiting and estimates that it will vanish from the overall population after a few generations, at which point mosquito populations will return to normal reproduction.
Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Be Set Loose In US
20638H. Wilmerding, Daily Caller, 2022-03-11 08:11:40.
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the United States as part of an initiative to replace the insects carrying deadly diseases, the company behind the plan announced Tuesday. The program, led by biotechnology company Oxitec, will release roughly 2 million genetically altered mosquitoes in California and Florida to fend off other mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases like Zika, yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya, the company said in a press release. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Oxitec’s plan on March 8. “Given the growing health threat this mosquito poses across the U.S., we’re working to make this technology available and accessible,” Oxitec chief executive officer Grey Frandsen said in the press release.
Florida Begins Release of Genetically Altered Mosquitoes to Prevent Spread of Zika
20632Entrepreneur staff, Entrepreneur, 2022-03-11 08:01:36.
Since 2016, Zika , a disease transmitted by a virus that spreads an invasive species of mosquito, has plagued various regions of the world, including areas of Florida and Texas in the United States. In May 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a program to release millions of genetically altered mosquitoes that, in theory, will help reduce the population of female Aedes aegypti specimens, the species that carries the virus. n 2016, the disease became a public health issue throughout the world and caused multiple cases of a condition called microcephaly, in babies of women who were infected during pregnancy. Infected babies were born with smaller heads than expected due to partial collapse of the skull and limited movement in some of their joints. The Zika virus has spread to more than 30 countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, and parts of the United States.This week the first step was taken in a program that, if successful, could culminate in the release of up to 750 million genetically altered flies that would help control the spread of the disease. The first phase will last 12 weeks and will consist of introducing up to 12,000 genetically modified eggs in small areas. In theory, the specimens that hatch from these eggs are capable of transmitting a gene that only kills the females (they are the ones that bite and infect people) before they reach adulthood and start biting.
2 Billion Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Have Been Approved For Release In Florida And California
20609J. U. Nisa, Wonder Engineering, 2022-03-10 12:21:31.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sanctioned the release of 2 billion genetically modified mosquitos in Florida and California, Oxitec, the company that created the genetically modified mosquitoes, said. Oxitec’s experimental program intends to reduce the spread of hazardous diseases like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever by destroying the offspring of a common type of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, which transmits diseases through its sting. Scientists at Oxitec, located in the United Kingdom, mass generate and genetically engineer male Aedes aegypti eggs in a lab. These male mosquitos will be released into the wild to mate with females and pass on a gene that kills the female offspring, which are the only ones that sting and carry disease. The male offspring survive.
Billions of genetically modified male mosquitos will be released in California and Florida as a ‘natural pest control’ to stop the spread of diseases like Zika, yellow fever and Dengue
20599R. Morrison, Daily Mail, 2022-03-10 12:07:54.
Billions of genetically engineered male mosquitos will be released in California and Florida over the next two years, as part of a mission to kill off biting females. Oxitec, based in Oxford UK, is a biological pest control development firm, that has produced the edited version of the flying insects to combat mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue, yellow fever and Zika. Male Aedes aegypti mosquitos don't bite humans, but females do, and so the genetic modification causes females to die off soon after being born. The project has been cleared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the first wave is due to be released this year, although it isn't clear exactly when this will happen, as it requires state regulatory approval in Florida and California. It isn't likely to be a problem in Florida, as the state played host to a trial last year that saw millions of the same type of Oxitec mosquitos released in the Florida Keys.
California Residents’ Perceptions of Gene Drive Systems to Control Mosquito-Borne Disease
20593C. E. Schairer, C. Triplett, O. S. Akbari and C. S. Bloss, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10. 2022-03-10 11:37:23.
Scientists developing gene drive mosquitoes for vector control must understand how residents of affected areas regard both the problem of mosquito-borne disease and the potential solutions offered by gene drive. This study represents an experiment in public engagement at an early stage of technology development, intended to inform lab scientists about public attitudes toward their research and inspire consideration and conversation about the social ramifications of creating mosquitoes with gene drive. Online focus groups with California residents explored views on mosquito-borne disease risk, current mosquito control methods, and the proposed development and use of different classes of gene drives to control Ae. aegypti. Rather than a dogmatic rejection of genetic engineering or gene drive, many participants expressed pragmatic concerns with cost, control, the ability to narrowly target specific species, and the challenges of mistrust and institutional cooperation. Work like this can inform the alignment of community priorities and the professional priorities of scientists and vector control specialists.
2 billion genetically modified mosquitos are about to be released in the US
20635J. Hawkins, yahoo, 2022-03-10 08:06:35.
Scientists have been playing god with mosquitos for a couple of years now. Back in 2021, British company Oxitec released 750 million lab-modified mosquitos in Florida. Now, the company is gearing up to release another 2 billion genetically modified mosquitos across more of Florida and in California as well.The new species, codenames OX5034, is made up entirely of male mosquitos. The new species is derived from the Aedes aegypti family of mosquitos. Just like others the company has released, this new 2 billion should produce larvae that die off before they reach adulthood. This is thanks to the self-limiting gene that Oxitec has created. The new gene essentially disrupts the generation of essential proteins the larvae need to develop. Without the needed proteins, it is unable to complete its development process.
2 Billion Genetically Altered Mosquitoes Will Be Released in Fla. and Calif. to Fight Disease
20628A. Adams, People, 2022-03-10 07:50:39.
Billions of genetically modified mosquitoes are expected to be released within the next two years as part of an expanded version of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study — but the project is receiving criticism from advocacy groups that believe it could be dangerous.The EPA said in an announcement on Monday that it will extend its current study into reducing the population of the Aedes aegypti, a mosquito commonly found in the United States, through April 2024. The EPA looking to broaden its work to Monroe County in Florida and four counties in California: Stanislaus, Fresno, Tulare and San Bernardino. Under the project's revised Experimental Use Permit (EUP), the EPA is permitted to release nearly 2.5 billion Aedes aegypti mosquitoes containing a protein called Tetracycline Trans-Activator Variant (tTAV-OX5034) into the wild.
Genetically modified mosquitoes could be tested in California soon
20605S. Milius, Science News, 2022-03-09 12:15:25.
Genetically modified mosquitoes might soon be whining on both U.S. coasts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved two more years of testing Oxitec’s genetically modified mosquitoes as living pest controls, continuing a pilot program started in 2021 in the Florida Keys and expanding it to up to four counties in California. Now the Florida and California state governments will consider whether to grant permission. The male mosquitoes, OX5034 Aedes aegypti engineered by the biotech company Oxitec, carry daughter-killing genes that get passed generation to generation. When these males mate with local females outside a lab, only the sons should survive. Those inheriting the sabotage gene will grow up to mate with normal females, dooming their daughters too.
Why millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released across US
20601J. Rogers, New York Post, 2022-03-09 12:11:08.
The US could soon be swarming with genetically altered mosquitoes after the Environmental Protection Agency approved a plan to test the insects. It is hoped the new altered mosquitoes will ward off their natural, disease-causing counterparts. Biotechnology company Oxitec has developed altered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which have been genetically modified so that males, which do not bite, are released into the wild and mate with females, which do bite. Their offspring, either male or female, never survive to reach maturity, according to the company.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes May Be Released in Fla and Calif
20597R. Ellis, WebMD, 2022-03-09 12:04:50.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the release of 2 billion genetically altered mosquitoes in Florida and California, the company that created the genetically modified mosquitoes said. The experimental program created by Oxitec is designed to reduce the transmission of harmful diseases such as dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. The program is an extension of one in which millions of mosquitoes were released last year in the Florida Keys, USA Today reported. State agencies in Florida and California will have to approve the programs before the releases occur. The aim of the program is to reduce cases of diseases like yellow fever by killing off the offspring of a common kind of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, which spreads diseases through its bite.
2 Billion Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Cleared for Release in California and Florida
20595E. Cara, gizmodo, 2022-03-09 11:59:00.
British biotech firm Oxitec announced this week that it has received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in parts of Florida and in California, following the completion of a pilot program last year. The modified male insects are designed to produce infertile offspring, ideally reducing local populations and rates of mosquito-borne illness. The male mosquitoes developed by Oxitec—codenamed species OX5034—are derived from Aedes aegypti, a notorious carrier of many diseases, including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever. When these mosquitoes mate with the native females in an area, they’re said to produce female larvae that simply die off before reaching adulthood, thus dooming the population as a whole. And because only female mosquitoes bite and suck blood from humans, the modified insects are thought to pose no danger to people.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Set to Be Released in California and Florida
20591K. Roberts, The Epoch Times, 2022-03-09 11:33:43.
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes are set to be released in California and Florida in an effort to reduce the number of real, disease-carrying invasive mosquitoes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday approved use of the genetically engineered insects in pilot projects in specific districts across both states. The mosquitoes were made by UK-based biotechnology firm Oxitec, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in an effort to combat insect-borne diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever, and the Zika virus. According to Oxitec, its “sustainable and targeted biological pest control technology does not harm beneficial insects like bees and butterflies and is proven to control the disease-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito, which has invaded communities in Florida, California, and other U.S. states.” Since it was first detected in California in 2013, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has spread rapidly to more than 20 counties throughout the state, increasing the risk of mosquito-borne diseases being transmitted to humans.
Proposed moquito release for Tulare County draws concern
20584E. Smith, The Business Journal, 2022-03-08 11:20:42.
News of the approval to release genetically-modified mosquitoes in Tulare County and Monroe County, Florida has drawn the ire of activists who say the company behind the project has not provided data demonstrating the insects are safe. At the same time, the company says it has the studies to demonstrate the safety of the program it calls “another tool in the integrated approach to pest control.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted U.K.-based Oxitec an experimental-use permit giving the company the first green light to release male, non-biting mosquitoes in Tulare County and Monroe County in Florida, according to Rajeev Vaidyanathan, director of operations for Oxitec. The test is to see whether the engineered mosquitoes can reduce the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have spread throughout the country with the potential to carry tropical diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. Before they can begin the program, the California Department of Pesticide Regulations has to approve the proposal.
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes may soon be buzzing in Florida and California. Here’s why.
20582R. W. Miller, USA Today, 2022-03-08 11:13:28.
Millions of genetically altered mosquitoes that seek to ward off their natural, disease-causing counterparts may soon be released in Florida and California after the Environmental Protection Agency approved a plan to further test the modified insects. Developed by the biotechnology company Oxitec, the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are genetically modified so that males, which do not bite, are released into the wild and mate with females, which do bite. Their offspring are either male or females that never survive to reach maturity, the company says. Millions of the mosquitoes were released in the Florida Keys in a pilot project last year, and the EPA has authorized the extension of the project in Florida as well as the expansion into four counties in California, pending approval from the states' regulators.
‘Halt this nightmare immediately’: EPA approves release of genetically-engineered mosquitoes
20579J. Corbett, AlterNet, 2022-03-08 11:05:13.
Environmental and public health advocates responded with alarm after the Biden administration on Monday gave a British biotechnology company a green light to unleash billions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Oxitec an experimental use permit that could lead to the release of genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes in four California counties and extend a widely criticized program in Florida's Monroe County. While the release is intended to investigate whether the GE mosquito can reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—which carry various viruses—the species is not common in California and there are no reported cases of the targeted diseases. "This experiment is unnecessary and even dangerous, as there are no locally acquired cases of dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, or Zika in California," declared Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety. Oxitec's altered male mosquitoes are supposed to pass on a gene that causes their offspring to die before reaching maturity. However, a peer-reviewed study published in September 2019 by Yale University researchers showed that releasing the GE mosquitoes in Brazil not only failed to reduce populations of Aedes aegypti but also resulted in hybrid mosquitoes.
Genetically Engineered Mosquito Imminent Mass Release Ignores Science, Public Health and Environmental Risks
20577H. Bourque, Friends of the Earth, 2022-03-07 11:00:22.
In defiance of science and public health concerns, today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the mass release of billions of experimental genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes into the United States’ most populous and agriculturally significant states. The biotechnology company Oxitec was granted an Experimental Use Permit for the release of a genetically engineered version of the species Aedes aegypti across Fresno, Tulare, San Bernadino and Stanislaus Counties in California and in Monroe County in Florida. This will be the biggest release of GE insects in the world. EPA’s approval came despite growing concerns raised by scientists, public health experts and environmental groups about potential impacts of the experimental releases to public health, the environment and endangered species. No publicly available data supports Oxitec’s claims that GE mosquitoes will reduce incidence of mosquito borne diseases. An independent peer-reviewed study from Yale University scientists revealed that over two years of continual releases of the GE mosquitoes at a test site in Brazil failed to reduce populations of Aedes aegypti. The Yale study also found that the GE mosquitoes bred with local Aedes aegypti, resulting in hybrid mosquitoes in the wild that may be more aggressive, more difficult to eradicate and may increase the spread of mosquito-borne disease.
GMO mosquitoes set for release in California to quell disease
20572M. Renda, Courthouse News Service, 2022-03-07 10:48:47.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the experimental use of genetically engineered mosquitoes in California and Florida to reduce the populations of invasive mosquitoes that carry a host of infectious diseases like Zika and dengue fever. “With mosquito and vector-borne diseases a growing concern in California, we see Oxitec’s technology as an important additional option to control the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito,” said Dr. Mustapha Debboun, general manager of the Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District, a government agency in the Central Valley. “We look forward to working in partnership with Oxitec and have been impressed with results from their previous projects in Brazil and the Florida Keys.” The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were historically relegated to tropical and subtropical zones but have since invaded every continent on Earth except Antarctica. They are capable of bringing the diseases that plague tropical regions with them.
Oxitec wraps mosquito trials for the season
19698T. O'Hara, Keynews.com, 2021-12-15 19:12:16.
The private bio-tech company Oxitec has wrapped up its test release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys
No, genetically engineered mosquitoes aren’t about to be released in Berkeley
19619K. D. Rauch, Berkeleyside, 2021-12-13 21:34:24.
Judith Pierce, public outreach coordinator for the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District, would like to make one thing clear: A release of genetically engineered mosquitoes is not coming to Berkeley — or anywhere in Alameda County — in the near future. Not to her knowledge, anyway, and if it were official, she would know. The Berkeley City Council’s robust discussion of this at a council meeting in early November was based partially on misleading information, said Pierce.The council, at its Nov. 9 meeting, considered whether to send a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing a potential California pilot study of mosquitoes engineered to combat Zika, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and other diseases.Councilmember Ben Bartlett sponsored the item, sending out an email to constituents ahead of time urging them to take action to prevent the EPA from “releasing billions of genetically engineered mosquitoes across California, specifically in Alameda County.” The sample letter Bartlett presented to the council was focused statewide, but background information he shared, as well as discussion at the meeting, focused on keeping the mosquitoes out of the county.
In Real Life: GMOsquitoes
19544Newsy, 2021-12-06 20:41:41.
The release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida gives hope of reducing the spread of disease while causing concerns among some citizens.
Major phase of Florida Keys GMO mosquito release complete, company says
19393D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2021-11-23 17:29:49.
A British biotechnology company and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District on Tuesday announced they have “successfully concluded” a major phase in a controversial trial project aimed at wiping out an invasive species of mosquito known to spread dangerous diseases like dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya. In April, the company, Oxitec, placed up to 130 boxes, each filled with millions of genetically altered male Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae, in several locations in the Middle and Lower Keys — hoping they would fly away after hatching and breeding with the naturally occurring local females in the area. Scientists designed a “death mechanism” in the males meant to ensure no viable female offspring would result from the mating. The male offspring, according to Oxitec, will pass on a “self-limiting gene” to half of their young, with the goal of Aedes aegypti breeding themselves out of existence in the Keys, according to the company.
Science Has Given Us the Power to Undermine Nature’s Deadliest Creature: Should We Use It?
19304E. Herold, leaps.org, 2021-11-16 13:32:15.
British biotech company Oxitec has engineered male mosquitoes to have a genetic "kill-switch" that could potentially crash the local population of Aedes aegypti, at least in the short-term. The modified males that are being released are intended to mate with wild females. Males don't bite; it's the female that's deadly, always seeking out blood to gorge on to help mature her eggs. After settling her filament-thin legs on her prey, she sinks a needlelike proboscis into the skin and sucks the blood until her translucent belly is bloated and glowing red. The kill-switch will ensure that the female offspring die before they reach maturity and thus, be unable to reproduce. Should a small number of them survive, they will be rendered unable to bite. The genetic modification means the proboscis, the sickle-like needle that pierces the skin, won't form properly. The idea is that the lack of females for the males to mate with, over a few generations, will collapse the local population of Aedes aegypti. The modified mosquitoes are the second genetically engineered insect to be released in the U.S. by Oxitec. The first was a modified diamondback moth, an agricultural pest that doesn't bite humans. But with the mosquitoes, there are many questions about the long-term effects on wild ecosystems, other species in the food chain, and human health. With the Keys initiative, there has been vociferous opposition from environmental groups and some local residents, but some scientists and public health experts say that genetically modified insects pose less of a risk than the diseases they carry and the powerful, indiscriminant pesticides used to combat them.
Uncle Sam’s Dangerous Game
19218X. Ping, XINHUANET, 2021-11-07 21:33:52.
Since the very beginning, residents in Florida Keys doubted if the “self-limiting” gene of Genetically Modified (GM) mosquitoes brought and released there by Oxitec, a biotech firm, and approved by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD), was as powerful as the company described. Oxitec said that the male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carried a “self-limiting” gene that produces a fatal protein which can kill their female offspring. In this way, population of mosquitoes in FKMCD was expected to crash rapidly. But for many residents in Florida Keys, those GM mosquitoes were like a Trojan Horse: it was sent to their doorstep, without any notice in advance, but they did not know what could be hidden on the inside. In fact, this "horse" has already been sent to other places multiple times. Before 2021, when Oxitec started the GM mosquitoes experiment in Florida, the firm had already been testing their immature research in Brazil, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands for a decade. Yet in 2019, scientists from Yale University found out that Oxitec’s technology might actually strengthen offspring of mosquitoes rather than kill them. Residents in Florida Keys therefore rejected the program, pointing out that the firm had not been forthright in telling them the possible health consequences of the experiment. The Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, a local voluntary organization, launched a petition with over 200,000 signatures against the Oxitec project.
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Amendment to Experimental Use Permit for Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes
18279PCT Staff, Pest Control Technology, 2021-09-01 14:19:37.
EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed amendment to extend and expand an approved Experimental Use Permit (EUP). The EUP currently allows Oxitec Ltd. to field test the use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as a way to reduce mosquito populations in Florida and Texas through April 2022. The proposed amendment would extend field testing in Florida by another 24 months on up to 6,240 acres and expand testing to California on up 84,600 acres. This amendment is still being reviewed by EPA and has not yet been approved. Once EPA finishes reviewing the proposed amendment and public comments, EPA will make a decision about whether to extend and expand the EUP. In May 2020, EPA granted Oxitec’s EUP after extensive evaluation of the best available science, consideration of public input, and consultation with technical experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Starting in late April 2021, Oxitec has been measuring how effective OX5034 genetically engineered mosquitoes are in suppressing Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in Florida. They release genetically engineered male mosquitoes that have a gene that makes a specific protein. This protein, as produced in female mosquitoes, prevents female offspring from surviving. The absence of female mosquito emergence in the release area results in mosquito population decline, and potentially, the reduction of vector pathogens that cause mosquito-borne illnesses such as the dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses.
Oxitec mosquito release expands
18082T. Java, Keynews.com, 2021-08-11 17:17:55.
Beginning this week, less than 200,000 genetically modified Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes will emerge from Oxitec’s designer bo…
Yes, genetically modified mosquitoes do exist, but they don’t bite and aren’t harmful to humans
17815E. Jones and M. Chamberlin, WKYC Studios, 2021-07-19 14:35:11.
In 2021, Oxitec, a biotechnology company that develops genetically modified insects that safely and sustainably control pests that spread disease, damage crops and harm livestock across the globe, partnered with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) to evaluate the effectiveness of Oxitec mosquitoes to control the invasive, disease-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito in the Florida Keys. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes typically live in tropical and subtropical climates, according to the CDC. The agency says Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are more likely to spread Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other viruses than other types of mosquitoes because they live near and prefer to feed on people. “One of the things that sort of works against the Aedes aegypti is that they are anthropophilic,” said Dr. Floyd Shockley, the collections manager in the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “Most of the mosquitoes that feed on humans tend to fly at night, but Aedes aegypti flies during the day. It's actually the mosquito that you usually run into when you're out hiking.” Dr. Nathan Rose, the head of Regulatory Affairs at Oxitec, tells VERIFY the company produces genetically modified male mosquitoes to target the wild Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes because they are the main vector for viral diseases.
Unique effort underway to control deadly mosquitos in Florida Keys
17823K. Corso and L. Aguirre, Local10.com, 2021-07-12 14:48:28.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 50% of the world’s population is under the threat of mosquito borne diseases. In South Florida, the Keys are a hot spot for infection and now the first place in the United States for a novel approach to eradicating these deadly insects. A mosquito control effort in the works for over a decade is now off the ground. The Oxitec Project uses genetically modified Aedes Aegypti male mosquitos to mate with females of the Aedes Aegypti species which carry some of the deadliest diseases “Ades Aegypti themselves are responsible for transmitting Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, Zika virus, said Andrea Leal, entomologist and executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. Only the female mosquitos bite so the Oxitec Project targets the female population of the species. “So with this project, we’re releasing males only and they’ve been modified with a female lethal gene which means as they go out and they mate with our wild females, all those female offspring will die,” Leal said.
Why Are Gates and Pentagon Releasing GMO Mosquitoes in Florida Keys?
17516F. W. Engdahl, LewRockwell.com, 2021-06-21 14:40:32.
On April 30 the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and the Oxitec biotechnology company announced they will begin release of what will ultimately be some 750 million genetically manipulated or gene-edited Aedes Aegypti mosquitos using CRSPR gene editing technology. The Aedes Aegypti makes up only about 4% of the mosquito population in the Keys. The release is bitterly opposed by residents and environmental groups who demanded a referendum in last year’s election ballot, but which the Mosquito Control Board refused, curiously. Oxitec and the Board claim the release is to kill off the presence of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which is believed to carry dengue fever, Zika and other diseases. The project, which sounds positive in the press statements, is alarming in many respects. First, the refusal to allow a citizen vote on the controversial GMO release. Second, there exists no cost-benefit analysis of the risks versus benefits of releasing millions of mosquitoes whose genetic traits are mutating in often unpredictable ways. Is it worth the risk that an ever more robust variety of mosquito will mutate from the project? No one can say. Traditional mosquito control techniques have worked well until now.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes; ‘Truth Like Oil’ Novel
17487Here and Now, WBUR, 2021-06-16 15:10:42.
Florida Keys officials are working on a unique experiment: hatching thousands of genetically modified mosquitos and releasing them. Andrea Leal of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District explains.
The First Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Have Just Been Released in The US
17303Admin, Science World, 2021-06-11 11:14:27.
The biotech firm Oxitec has released its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, with the goal of suppressing wild, disease-carrying mosquito populations in the region. This is the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in the US. Oxitec previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Malaysia, and the company reported that local A. aegypti populations fell by at least 90 percent in those locations, Live Science previously reported. A. aegypti can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever, and releasing modified mosquitoes offers a way to control the population without using pesticides. Oxitec's modified mosquitoes, all male, have been engineered to carry a lethal gene; when the modified pests mate with wild female mosquitoes, the lethal gene gets passed on to their offspring.
Bill Gates Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in Florida? Here’s the Whole Story
17558M. Dapcevich, Snopes, 2021-06-03 14:44:33.
Bill Gates is not himself releasing mosquitoes into the wild. However, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did award grants that funded biotech company Oxitec's work to develop genetically modified mosquitoes that may help reduce the spread of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. In April 2021, it was announced that approximately 150,000 mosquitoes would be released across six locations in Florida. Several state and federal agencies have been involved in the approval of this project. A multi-year research project to genetically modify Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species that is known to carry and transmit infectious diseases to humans, was slated to move from the lab to the fields of Texas and Florida in mid-2021. Under the project, thousands of A. aegypti were altered to make their reproduction more difficult, thus slowing and eventually preventing the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika, and dengue fever. But when the internet caught wind that Bill Gates may have been behind the project, posts circulated on social media that questioned the real motivation behind the project.
Mutant mosquitoes carrying ‘death gene’ released as ‘bio-engineered’ insects terrify
17185J. Caven, Daily Star, 2021-06-02 20:16:02.
Mutant mosquitoes which carry a ‘death gene’ have been released into the skies in a bid to curb diseases from spreading to humans. Tens of thousands of genetically modified male insects will mate with female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit illnesses, in Florida Keys, US. Although the males don’t bite, they carry a gene which passes on and kills female offspring in the early larval stages. The pilot project aims to wipe out a generation of potential disease-carriers. Scientists say usual methods to stop the spread of disease from mosquitoes are becoming less effective due to resistance. But critics have slammed the programme and say they are being used as “guinea pigs in a sci-fi experiment”, the Times reported.
‘Death gene’ in genetically modified male mosquitoes
17181J. Goddard, The Times, 2021-06-02 20:10:43.
Tens of thousands of bio-engineered mosquitoes have taken flight in the Florida Keys under a pilot project that aims to breed insects programmed with a “death switch”. Genetically modified males produced by Oxitec — a British-founded biotechnology company — have begun mating with local populations of invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, whose female progeny are programmed to die before they mature, wiping out a generation of potential disease-carriers. “Mosquito-borne disease is a very real issue and conventional controls are losing their effectiveness,” said Dr Nathan Rose, head of regulatory affairs at Oxitec in Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
Genetically Altered Mosquitoes Target Deadly Dengue Fever and Zika
17174R. L. Hotz, Wall Street Journal, 2021-05-31 19:52:20.
Across the Florida Keys this week, newly hatched mosquitoes are swarming from damp flowerpots, waterlogged spare tires, trash cans and drainage ditches. In six neighborhoods, however, a change is buzzing in the air. Scientists have genetically modified thousands of these mosquitoes and, for the first time in the U.S., set them free to breed. These genetically engineered insects, known by their model number as OX5034, are a laboratory offshoot of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue, Zika and other infectious ills. After a decade of public debate and regulatory delays, these insects are being released by a U.K. biotechnology company called Oxitec. Using genetic-engineering techniques, the company altered the male mosquitoes to pass down a gene that makes females need a dash of the antibiotic tetracycline to survive. Without it, females that spread the disease die as larvae. Altered males, which don’t bite, seek out wild females to mate and spread the lethal trait to future generations. Gradually, more females die. The swarms dwindle and disappear, with no need for chemical insecticides.
Mosquitoes are deadly pests, genetically-modified mosquitoes could help stop disease
17127T. Browne, ClickOrlando, 2021-05-27 19:04:12.
Hearing the words “genetically modified mosquitoes” can sound like the plot for a science-fiction movie but Meredith Fenson, a native Floridian turned biological pest control specialist says, “mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal by far” and a study happening right now in the Florida Keys could help change the tide. Fenson works as the head of global public affairs for Oxitec and sat down with News 6 anchors Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate podcast to talk about how genetically modified mosquitoes work, concerns surrounding their release and Oxitec’s plans to release more in the future. Aedes Aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, only makes up about 4% of the population in the Florida Keys but Fenson says they are responsible for virtually all the diseases spread from mosquitoes to humans. She says this includes Zika, dengue fever and Chikungunya.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes: What to Know
17138N. Pathak, WebMD, 2021-05-25 13:11:47.
It sounds like something out of a movie: a biotech company releases genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild. But this is the real deal, a test that’s been done in a handful of countries around the world and that is underway in the U.S. Scientists hope these bugs can help them stop the spread of some dangerous viruses over time. What Is a Genetically Modified Mosquito? There are more than 200 types of wild mosquitoes buzzing around America and the U.S. territories. One type that’s common in many parts of the country, Aedes aegypti, can spread diseases like dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya through its bite.Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have had their genes changed in a lab are intended to control the disease-carrying wild ones. It’s a possible alternative to insecticides, which are used so much in the U.S. that some mosquitoes have become resistant to them, meaning they shrug off the deadly effects. And certain insecticides can be toxic to beneficial bugs like bees.
Florida Environmental Group Says GMO Mosquitoes Fall Short on Scientific Rigor
17079C. Drukier, NTD, 2021-05-20 15:01:00.
America’s first genetically modified mosquitoes are now buzzing around six locations in the Florida Keys as part of a pilot project. Developed by UK biotech company Oxitec, the bugs are designed to kill off the wild population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry diseases like Dengue fever, yellow fever, and the Zika virus. Some people who live in the Keys aren’t happy about being part of a science experiment. Barry Wray, executive director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition explains why his organization has been fighting the GMO bugs for the last decade.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Take Flight to Fight Invasive Species in Florid
17073T. Machemer, Smithosonian Magazine, 2021-05-17 14:46:06.
In late April, the biotechnology company Oxitec placed blue-and-white hexagonal boxes on the properties of six private volunteers around the Florida Keys. After pouring in water, the genetically modified mosquito eggs inside activated and hatched. Now the first larvae have developed into full-grown male mosquitoes and taken flight, Susan Millis reports for Science News. About 12,000 of Oxitec’s male mosquitoes will fly out of the boxes each week for the next 12 weeks. Over several mosquito generations, Oxitec’s genetically modified Aedes aegypti could reduce the population of female mosquitoes—which bite and spread disease—and then lower the entire population in the Florida Keys in turn. The current trial marks the first time that genetically modified mosquitoes have been released to fly freely in the United States.
Genetically modified mosquitoes may help scientists swat dreaded midge
17057W. Jean, The Times, 2021-05-16 13:41:37.
Scotland’s bloodthirsty midges may finally meet their match thanks to revolutionary genetic manipulation techniques that could stop the pesky insects biting chunks out of the tourist industry. News that a British biotechnology company has created genetically modified non-biting mosquitoes in Florida to help curb dengue and yellow fever, and ultimately malaria, may give hope in the fight against the annual Scottish scourge. Oxford-based Oxitec and its American partners recently released genetically modified male mosquito larvae into the Florida Keys to control the wild, disease-carrying mosquito population rather than use pesticides. While midges share some characteristics with mosquitoes, Dr Simon Carpenter, a Pirbright Institute entomologist who was part of the team that built the first complete genome of the Highland biting midge, said the gene-editing process
First Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released in U.S. Are Hatching Now
17046D. Coffey, Scientific American, 2021-05-14 11:50:11.
This week, mosquito eggs placed in the Florida Keys are expected to hatch tens of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes, a result of the first U.S. release of such insects in the wild. A biotechnology firm called Oxitec delivered the eggs in late April as part of a federally approved experiment to study the use of genetic engineering—rather than insecticides—to control disease-carrying mosquito populations. The move targets an invasive species, called Aedes aegypti, that carries Zika, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and other potentially deadly diseases, some of which are on the rise in Florida. The experiment relies on a genetic alteration that will be lethal to a large number of future offspring. In this case, male mosquitoes have been modified to carry a gene that makes their female progeny dependent on the antibiotic tetracycline—and thus fated to die in the wild. As the mating cycle repeats over generations, female numbers are depleted, and the population is suppressed. The modified insects eventually die off, making this approach self-limiting. Oxitec overcame significant regulatory hurdles before getting the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016 and then the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020. If the current pilot effort is successful, the firm is set to release as many as 20 million more males in the prime of Florida’s mosquito season later this year. The results of the experiment could ultimately help address concerns about releasing genetically modified organisms into the wild.
In a World-First, Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Are Hatching in the US
17044B. Bergan, INTERSTING ENGINEERING, 2021-05-14 11:44:58.
Mosquito eggs placed in the Florida Keys are about to hatch tens of thousands of genetically altered mosquitos, the first such release of "synthetic" insects in the world, according to an initial report from Scientific American. Pilot program for genetically modified mosquitoes could see millions more released this year. The biotechnology firm called Oxitec delivered the modified mosquito eggs late in April as part of a federally-endorsed experiment to study the use of genetic engineering, as opposed to insecticides, to control the populations of illness-spreading mosquitoes. This project targets one specific species of mosquito called Aedes aegypti, known to carry Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, dengue, and other possibly deadly diseases. And some of these diseases have been on the rise in Florida. The new genetic contribution given to the mosquitoes will be deadly to many future offspring, with males altered to carry a gene causing female offspring to become dependent on the antibiotic called tetracycline — which is a death sentence for the female mosquitoes. After several generations, there won't be enough female mosquitoes of the species to maintain population numbers, putting a ceiling on them. But this is a temporary measure, since the genetically modified male mosquitoes will eventually all die.
The U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight
17041S. Milius, Science News, 2021-05-14 11:35:37.
The first genetically modified mosquitoes that will be allowed to fly free outdoors in the United States have started reaching the age for mating in the Florida Keys. In a test of the biotech company Oxitec’s GM male mosquitoes for pest control, these Aedes aegypti started growing from tiny eggs set out in toaster-sized, hexagonal boxes on suburban private properties in late April. On May 12, experiment monitors confirmed that males had matured enough to start flying off on their own to court American female mosquitoes. This short-term Florida experiment marks the first outdoor test in the United States of a strain of GM male mosquitoes as a highly targeted pest control strategy. This strain is engineered to shrink local populations of Ae. aegypti, a mosquito species that spreads dengue and Zika (SN: 7/29/16). That could start happening now that the GM mosquitoes have reached mating age because their genetics makes them such terrible choices as dads.
Use of genetically modifed mosquitoes to minimize the burden of diseases casused by mosquitoes in South Texas.
17016MDN Staff, MegaDoctor News, 2021-05-11 13:00:04.
Of the many species of mosquitoes, female Aedes aegypti is the primary vector that is responsible for transmission of several diseases and has been most extensively studied. The efforts of the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent and/or control mosquito-borne illness have yielded success, but it remains a serious global challenge. More recently, several approaches to create transgenic mosquitoes with the ultimate objective of preventing and/or controlling mosquito-borne illness have undergone field studies. Infecting mosquitoes with different strains of Wolbachia resulted in the reduction of egg laying rates, transmission ability and shorter lifespan. Similarly, using genetic technology, a self-limiting strain of male mosquitoes (OX513A) when released in the field have shown an 81%-95% suppression of population of this strain as compared to adjacent no-release control field. These encouraging results prompted the issuance of authorization by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the use of second generation genetically modified mosquitoes (OX5034) in Florida and Texas” said Sohail Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, President and Chief Executive Officer, DHR Health Institute for Research & Development. As the first-ever use of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States, over 750 million OX5034 will be ultimately released in the Florida Keys an area devastated by mosquito-borne illnesses
Monster Mosquito–Why the Technology of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes is Dangerous and Should Be Stopped Worldwide
17001B. Dogra, counter currents, 2021-05-10 15:32:17.
After sparking controversy in other countries including India, the technology of genetically engineered mosquitoes is now leading to widespread protests in Florida USA. Here the biotechnology giant company Oxitec in collaboration with local officialdom is moving ahead with a pilot project to release millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in Monroe County over a period of two years or so. The stated aim is to control the population of Aedes aegypti, a species that can carry both the dengue and the yellow fever virus. The idea is for genetically altered male, non-biting mosquitoes to mate with local , biting females , producing offspring that die at larval stage. Pointing out the inherent dangers of such technologies a spokesperson of Florida Key Environmental Coalition said that everyone should be writing to the White House to stop the release, at least until regulations to protect people are in place. Friends of the Earth has commented—scientists have raised concerns that genetically engineered mosquitoes could create hybrid wild mosquitoes which could worsen the spread of mosquito borne diseases and could be more resistant to insecticides than the original wild mosquitoes.
Florida releases genetically modified mosquitoes in hopes to reduce spread of disease
17011A. Fahim, Reuters, 2021-05-10 12:50:27.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been released for the first time in the United States, taking flight in the Florida Keys in a pilot program intended to reduce the spread of deadly diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and the Zika virus.After an odyssey spanning more than a decade to secure regulatory approval, British-based biotechnology firm Oxitec, along with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD)launched the project in hope of reducing the Aedes aegypti species that spread the diseases.While Oxitec and local authorities have high hopes for the program, local residents and environmental groups worry that not enough is known about the long-term effects of the new technology.Nevertheless, the Environmental Protection Agency granted an experimental use permit (EUP) to Oxitecon May 1.A half-dozen boxes containing the OX5034 mosquito created by Oxitec have been deployed in the Florida Keys, an archipelago stretching 120 miles (195 km) off the southern tip of the state.Only female Aedes aegypti bite and spread disease, so Oxitec has created males that pass on a gene that kills female offspring before they mature. Their male offspring then continue mating and passing on the altered gene.
Why Florida is releasing genetically modified mosquitoes
16999M. Murphy, The Telegraph, 2021-05-09 15:19:45.
The thousands of lab-grown mosquitoes hatching in humid gardens across Florida’s tropical Key West next week will be blissfully ignorant of the controversy they have caused. Billboards have already begun appearing near busy motorways in protest of their arrival, with one splashed with the words “risky, unnecessary, unwanted” aside a giant picture of the blood-thirsty insect. “The word ‘genetically modified’ scares people,” says Douglas Mader, a local vet and newspaper columnist living in the Lower Keys. “They think oh my god, they’re releasing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and they are going to bite me and I’m going to turn into a zombie”. The creatures are the creation of Oxitec, a Bill Gates-backed biotechnology company based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Grey Frandsen, its chief executive, and around 20 scientists at Oxitec’s labs, have made it their mission to stop the spread of diseases such as dengue, Zika and malaria by controlling mosquitoes’ reproduction.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Have Come to the U.S. Will They Work?
16996A. de la Garza, TIME, 2021-05-09 15:13:05.
“Our Mosquito Project Takes Flight,” reads a baby-blue billboard off US-1 in the Florida Keys, alongside an image of an insect tracing a path in the shape of a heart. Sponsored by the local mosquito control board and U.K.-based biotech firm Oxitec, the ad promotes a contentious plan to release millions of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes here to test a new method of bioengineered pest control. It’s the first-ever such experiment in the United States, and one that has turned this chain of sun-soaked island communities into a battleground over scientific truth, government authority, and humanity’s right to modify nature. Even this bit of roadside signage is contested. Four months ago, the billboard carried a different ad, paid for by the Coalition Against GMO Mosquitoes, an organization with the mission of stopping releases of the genetically modified insects in the U.S., “WARNING!!!,” it read then, “GENETICALLY MODIFIED MOSQUITOES TO BE RELEASED IN THE KEYS!!” That release began in late April, when, after a decade of planning, regulatory review and debate, Oxitec workers and local mosquito control personnel added water to a dozen plastic boxes containing the company’s “Friendly™” mosquito eggs in six locations around the Keys, triggering their hatching process. Oxitec’s Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved for use last year—are genetically modified to include a “self-limiting” gene that produces a fatal protein. The mosquitoes are raised in a laboratory in the presence of tetracycline, an antibiotic that prevents the added gene from activating. The mosquitoes’ eggs are then left to hatch in the wild, without the antibiotic. The gene kills immature egg-laying females—the only ones that bite—but the males reach maturity, mate with wild females, and pass on their faulty gene. Then their female progeny die, causing the bloodsuckers’ population to crash.
Bill Gates finances the creation of transgenic mosquitoes
16992Explica.co, explica, 2021-05-07 15:03:11.
Male mosquitoes (they do not bite. They feed on nectar, not blood) from Oxitec will emerge from release boxes placed in six locations in the Florida Keys to mate with local female mosquitoes (they do bite. They do feed on blood). The female offspring from these encounters cannot survive, and the Aedes aegypti population will be controlled in this way.. The Aedes aegypti mosquito makes up about four percent of the mosquito population in the Keys. The project has the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the collaboration of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD). In 2021, the United States expects the release of 750 million transgenic mosquitoes. “An important part of the FKMCD’s mission is to protect the residents of the Florida Keys from the disease-transmitting mosquito, Aedes aegypti. As we are seeing the development of resistance to some of our current control methods, we need new tools to fight this mosquito. And given the unique ecosystem we live in, those tools must be safe, environmentally friendly and specific. That’s why we collaborate with Oxitec on this project. With the full approval of the US EPA and from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and with the support of the US Centers for Disease Control and an independent advisory board, we are pleased to announce that this project will be underway soon, ”says Andrea Leal, executive director of the FKMCD.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released In US For First Time To Combat Disease
16985J. Van Zijl, IFL Science, 2021-05-06 16:11:16.
A landmark project, spearheaded by the biotechnology company, Oxitec, has released genetically modified mosquitos in the Florida Keys. This marks the first time that genetically modified mosquitos have been released into the wild in the US. The reason: to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito species responsible for spreading mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and Zika in the region. Aedes aegypti only accounts for about 4 percent of the total mosquito population in Florida keys – however, it is responsible for almost all mosquito-borne diseases to humans. Current methods to control the species, such as spraying or fogging chemical insecticides, have failed due to the species becoming resistant. So an alternative solution was needed.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released In Florida ‘Jurassic Park Experiment’
16978D. Richardson, UNILAD, 2021-05-06 15:58:18.
Mosquitos are not only annoying but they can carry disease in their bites. In response to this, a company called Oxitec has genetically modified male mosquitos to pass on a killswitch to females. It is hoped that these genetically modified pests will help stop the transmission of deadly diseases, including yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus. The Florida Keys project, which was greenlit by the US Environment Protection Agency in May 2020, has approved the release of 750 million modified mosquitos. However, at the moment only 144,000 will be released during a three-month trial period. Nonetheless, some people in the trial areas are concerned.
Gravitas: Genetically modified mosquitoes arrive in Florida
16962P. Sharma, WION, 2021-05-06 15:03:25.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes have arrived in U.S. 20 million 'modified mosquitoes' will be released in Florida to help prevent Dengue. But, Florida residents fear a 'mosquito apocalypse'
Reengineered mosquitoes released in Florida pilot program
17021S. W. Tan, The Washington Times, 2021-05-06 13:12:32.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes have been released in the U.S. for the first time in the Florida Keys, with hopes of quelling wild, disease-carrying mosquito populations in the region. British-based biotech firm Oxitec genetically engineered Aedes aegypti non-biting male mosquitoes to carry a lethal gene that gets passed onto their offspring when they mate with wild biting female mosquitoes. The offspring are unable to survive, hence controlling the population of disease-carrying species, according to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD), one of the entities that approved the firm’s project. Release boxes containing the genetically engineered male mosquitoes were placed in six locations last week — two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key — with thousands starting to emerge this month. Around 12,000 mosquitoes are expected to emerge each week for about 12 weeks.
First genetically modified mosquitoes released in US
16972N. Lanese, LiveScience, 2021-05-05 15:42:05.
The biotech firm Oxitec has released its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, with the goal of suppressing wild, disease-carrying mosquito populations in the region. This is the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in the U.S. Oxitec previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and Malaysia, and the company reported that local A. aegypti populations fell by at least 90% in those locations, Live Science previously reported. A. aegypti can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, and releasing modified mosquitoes offers a way to control the population without using pesticides. Oxitec's modified mosquitoes, all male, have been engineered to carry a lethal gene; when the modified pests mate with wild female mosquitoes, the lethal gene gets passed on to their offspring. Though the gene does not affect the males' survival, it prevents female offspring from building an essential protein and thus causes them to die before reaching maturity. Only female mosquitoes bite people (male mosquitoes exclusively drink nectar), so the modified mosquitoes and their surviving male offspring can't pass diseases to humans.
Bill Gates-backed startup releases millions of genetically modified mosquitoes
16952ENTREPRENEUR STAFF, Entrepreneur, 2021-05-04 20:35:48.
The British company Oxitec released a cloud of hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes to study how to control their reproduction and thus stop the spread of dengue, Zika, malaria, etc. As reported by Axios , the company, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , released the mosquitoes a week ago from the Florida Keys. In a statement, Oxitec explained that this experiment seeks to study ways to stop the reproduction of Aedes aegypti , the main transmitters of potentially fatal diseases. Why are Oxitec mosquitoes different? According to the company , the males in their insect cloud have a modified gene, called OX5034, that restricts the survival of the females they mate with. Thus, mosquitoes will not grow large enough to bite humans (only females consume blood; males feed on nectar). Oxitec noted that this species only represents 4% of the mosquito population in Florida, but it is the most disease-transmitting species. The startup has already released millions of modified insects around the world, including in Brazil and the Cayman Islands.
First US Field Test of GM Mosquitoes Begins in Florida
16950C. Wilcox, The Scientist, 2021-05-04 20:30:49.
he first US field test of genetically modified mosquitoes for population control has begun in Florida. Approximately 144,000 mosquitoes engineered by the UK-based biotech firm Oxitec are to be expected to be set free over the next three months, the first of up to 750 million approved for release over the next two years by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The trial aims to test whether the mosquitoes are effective at reducing populations of invasive Aedes aegypti, a species that can transmit dangerous diseases to people. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which has partnered with Oxitec, has said this species makes up only 4 percent of the mosquito community in the Keys but is responsible for nearly all disease transmission and has become increasingly resistant to available pesticides, Nature reports. According to Oxitec, the modified mosquitoes are all male and carry a gene that makes female mosquitoes dependent on an antibiotic not available in the animals’ environment, thereby killing all of the male’s female offspring. Adult mosquitoes only live for a few weeks, and just the females bite, so the firm expects its modified males can spread the female-killing insert through the population and drastically reduce the number of potential disease vectors in the region. If successful, the mosquitoes could be used in place of pesticides in control efforts. A small but vocal group of Florida residents that has opposed the “mutant mosquitoes” from the get-go are continuing to seek legal action to stop it, CNN reports. Key Largo resident Mara Daly tells CNN she hopes “civil unrest happens,” and suggests residents could have their communities sprayed with pesticides in an effort to “opt out” of the trial.
The first transgenic mosquitoes were releaseed in the United States.
16947D. Davis, Prudent Press Agency, 2021-05-04 20:19:07.
After a decade of fighting for regulatory approval and public acceptance, the biotech company has released GMO mosquitoes outdoors in the United States for the first time. The experiment, which began this week in the Florida Keys, despite objections from some local critics, is testing a method for suppressing populations of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can transmit diseases such as Zika, dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever mosquitoes. Oxitec, the UK-based company Abingdon that developed mosquitoes, has previously tested the insects in the field in Brazil, Panama, the Cayman Islands and Malaysia. But so far, due to a tortuous series of regulatory decisions and Florida residents’ disapproval (see “Long Road”), no GM mosquitoes have been tested in the United States, although the country had previously allowed evidence of a GM diamond. Moth (Plutella xylostella) in New York and pink worm (Pectinophora gossypiella) in Arizona, both developed by Oxitec. “When something new and revolutionary comes along, people’s immediate reaction is to say, ‘Wait,’” says Anthony James, a molecular biologist specializing in mosquito bioengineers at the University of California, Irvine. [Oxitec] Was able to conduct a trial on the ground in the United States a big problem. “
The Bill Gates Corporation, Backed by Bill Gates, Releases Thousands of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
16975T. Meeks, Aviation Analysis, 2021-05-04 15:50:15.
British company Oxitec has launched transgenic mosquitoes in the Florida Keys, in the United States, to study how to control their reproduction and thus limit the spread of chronic diseases transmitted by insects such as dengue fever and the Zika virus. The company, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced the placement of its confined release funds, non-release funds, and quality control funds this week in six locations: two in Cudjoe Key, one in Ramrod Key, and three in Vaca Key. Why is the Oxitec mosquito different? According to the company, the males in its insect cloud carry a modified gene called OX5034, which restricts the survival of the females they mate with. As of early next month, fewer than 12,000 mosquitoes are expected to appear per week for about 12 weeks. Untreated comparison sites will be controlled with mosquito traps at Key Colony Beach, Little Torch Key, and Summerland Key. “We started looking at this a decade ago because we were in the middle of an outbreak of dengue fever in the Florida Keys,” Andrea Lyell, executive director of the Florida Keys area for mosquito control, said during a videoconference. “So we are very excited to further this partnership, and work with both Oxitec and members of the community.” Last year the Keys authorities approved the pilot project with mosquitoes Aedes aegyptiShe is not a Florida native. This insect transmits many diseases to humans, especially in the Keys island chain, where dozens of dengue cases were recorded last year.
Next gen insect control
16960E. Unglesbee, Progressive Farmer, 2021-05-04 14:58:12.
Dubbed "self-limiting" insects by their makers, a UK-based biotechnology company called Oxitec, these insects are genetically modified (GM) with an inserted gene that permits only male offspring to survive. Once released into a pest community, the GM insects gradually lower the population, accomplishing a new type of pest control. Then, rather politely, they die off themselves. "After we stop releasing the self-limiting males, the gene declines in a population over a short period of time and within a few generations, disappears," Neil Morrison, head of agriculture programs for Oxitec, told DTN. "It's a gene that prevents survival of half its carriers -- the females -- so it's essentially programmed to decline and disappear quite rapidly." Sound too sci-fi to be real? It's actually happening right now, in the Florida Keys. After gaining EPA and state regulatory approval for the project last year, Oxitec is working with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to deploy the country's first largescale release of Oxitec's self-limiting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Genetically modified mosquitos: Biohacking for disease prevention.
16941D. Maloney, HACKADAY, 2021-05-03 15:02:07.
Mosquito control is basically a numbers game, stacked in their favor. Since each female lays 100 to 200 eggs in a clutch, in wet climates, mosquitos are simply too prolific to get ahead of using standard means. Coupled with collateral damage to the environment — draining wetlands carries potentially huge impacts on a wide range of species, as does the indiscriminate use of pesticides — the search for new control methods with less harmful ecological side-effects has led to research into genetic methods of reducing mosquito populations. The idea of genetically engineering insects is nothing new. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has had its genome extensively modified for over 100 years, first using standard mating and crossing techniques and later using transgenic methods to insert, delete, and edit genes. The result has been a wealth of knowledge about how the genetics of higher organisms work, as well as models for human diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson’s. But in general, transgenic fruit flies are simply model organisms destined to live and die in the lab. The concept of building a genetically modified insect for release into the wild is fairly new. Oxitec, the company behind the planned releases of transgenic mosquitos in Florida, has been working on the genetic control of a range of pest insect species since it was founded in 2002. They are currently on their second generation of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitos, which is the insect that will soon be tested in Florida. The mosquito, dubbed OX5034, has been genetically engineered to be self-limiting. Both male and female OX5034 mosquitos carry a synthetic gene that is lethal only to females. The plan is to release OX5034 male mosquitos into a wild population where they’ll breed with unmodified females. These females will take a blood meal and lay eggs that carry the synthetic gene. Only the male eggs in the clutch will develop into adulthood; the females will all die during the larval and pupal stage, which will eventually reduce the number of blood meals taken and the potential for disease spread.
First genetically modified mosquitoes released in the United States
16939E. Waltz, Nature, 2021-05-03 14:56:33.
After a decade of fighting for regulatory approval and public acceptance, a biotechnology firm has released genetically engineered mosquitoes into the open air in the United States for the first time. The experiment, launched this week in the Florida Keys — over the objections of some local critics — tests a method for suppressing populations of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. Oxitec, the firm based in Abingdon, UK, that developed the mosquitoes, has previously field-tested the insects in Brazil, Panama, the Cayman Islands and Malaysia. But until now, owing to a circuitous series of regulatory decisions and pushback from Florida residents (see ‘A long road’), no genetically engineered mosquito had been trialled in the United States — even though the country previously allowed tests of a genetically engineered diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) in New York and an engineered pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) in Arizona, both developed by Oxitec. “When something new and revolutionary comes along, the immediate reaction of a lot of people is to say: ‘Wait.’,” says Anthony James, a molecular biologist focused on bioengineered mosquitoes at the University of California, Irvine. “So the fact that [Oxitec] was able to get the trial on the ground in the United States is a big deal.”
Oxitec releases first genetically modified mosquitoes in U.S.
16928J. Knutson, Axios, 2021-05-01 15:46:09.
Oxitec, a British startup determined to prevent instances of mosquito-borne disease, released thousands of genetically modified mosquito eggs in the Florida Keys this week as part of a test approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and Florida's agriculture department. Why it matters: It marks the first release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the U.S. and has some locals worried about how this will impact the broader ecosystem, according to CNN. How it works: Oxitec expects to target Aedes aegypti, an invasive species of mosquito that carries several dangerous diseases like yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have landed in the Keys. Here’s what you need to know
16918G. Filosa, Miami Herald, 2021-05-01 13:54:49.
More than 20 million genetically modified mosquitoes are coming to the Florida Keys this year, in a landmark project by British biotech company Oxitec and Monroe County’s Mosquito Control District. This mosquito control method hasn’t been used in the U.S. before. It’s a pilot program and the first trial began over the past week. The project is aimed at reducing the population of the invasive Aedes aegypti, which carries diseases like Zika. This is the first time in the country that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued the “experimental use permit” for this method.
What Are GMO Mosquitoes and What Is Their Purpose?
17038A. Krosofsky, GREENMATTERS, 2021-05-01 11:29:18.
Scientists have made GMO corn, strawberries, even many types of farm animals. Now, it seems, they have managed to genetically modify mosquitoes as well. But what is the purpose of GMO mosquitoes, and why would scientists go out of their way to create something that is already a problem for a huge portion of the planet’s population? As it turns out, GMO mosquitoes are a way to fight fire with fire. By creating and releasing their own genetically modified mosquitoes into existing populations, a few clever scientists have managed to curb the spread of dangerous mosquito-borne diseases like the Zika virus. According to the CDC, GMO mosquitoes are modified from the Aedes aegypti mosquito species. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are commonly found in many parts of the U.S., including Florida and Texas. They are well known for spreading and carrying viruses like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya, but the GMO versions of these insects are designed to stop the spread of those diseases right at the source: the carriers themselves.
Genetically modified mosquitoes | Connect the Dots
16905thv11, THV11, 2021-04-30 17:56:23.
This is a local TV story from Arkansas of the Oxitec trial being conducted in Florida.
‘Home to GMO Mosquitoes?!’ Florida Unleashes a Billion Lab Grown Mosquitoes
16925Anonymous, B and T MAGAZINE, 2021-04-30 15:40:06.
Up to a billion genetically engineered mosquitoes are going to be released in the Florida Keys—but locals are having none of it, with billboards erected saying ‘no!’ to the damned blood suckers. The genetically-modified mosquitoes, known as the OX5034, were made in a laboratory in London by British biotech firm Oxitec, in a bid to kill-off a species in the Florida Keys that carries dengue fever, Zika virus, and yellow fever. It comes after more than 7,300 dengue cases were reported in the US in the past decade, Vice reports. While most were contracted outside America, 71 were transmitted in Florida, according to the CDC.
The Release of 1 Billion Exterminator Mosquitoes Has Begun
16922D. Noor, Gizmodo, 2021-04-30 15:32:45.
Tens of thousands of male mosquitoes are descending on the Florida Keys. But these are no ordinary mosquitoes: They’re genetically modified, and they were planted around the state on purpose. It’s part of a plan to curb disease by releasing 1 billion mosquitoes across two states—but it’s giving some folks the heeby jeebies. Workers placed boxes of mosquitoes’ eggs—two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key—on Thursday, and expect them to hatch in about a week. They’ll repeat the process over the coming months, releasing 12,000 of the bugs per week for 12 weeks. That’s 144,000 mosquitoes overall—gross. The project marks the first time GMO mosquitoes have ever been released in the U.S., was launched by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) with the private British firm biotech Oxitec. It’s an attempt to curb the spread of dengue, Zika and yellow fever.
First-ever US release of genetically modified mosquitoes begins in Florida Keys
16920S. LaMotte, CNN, 2021-04-30 15:27:44.
The first release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States began this week in the Florida Keys -- the culmination of a decade-long effort by local mosquito control authorities to see if a genetically modified organism is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides in the region.For the first 12-week phase, blue-and-white boxes containing about 12,000 GMO eggs developed by a US-owned, British-based company called Oxitec have been placed in six small areas of Ramrod Key, Cudjoe Key and Vaca Key. When water is added, the mosquitoes hatch, mature and enter the environment over the next week or so. A small, vocal group of Florida Key residents have fought the release of what they call "mutant mosquitoes" since the project was announced -- and they are incensed. "Our opposition has been long and strong," said Barry Wray, the executive director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition. "We live here, this our home, and they're forcing this down people's throats." "The only thing you can do legally at this point is stand in your yard with an insect fogger," said Mara Daly, a resident of Key Largo, Florida, who has fought the release for eight years. "You can't touch a box, but you can fog the s**t out of your own yard if you don't want to be a part of the trial."
The first genetically modified mosquitoes released in the U.S. to buzz in the Florida Keys
16897K. Weintraub, USA Today, 2021-04-29 17:37:24.
On Thursday morning, workers from a British company placed basketball-sized cardboard boxes into six yards in the Florida Keys. Then they added water. In a week or so, 12,000 male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes will – one by one – begin buzzing out of each box, the first genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in the United States. Local officials argue the trial is necessary at a time when pesticides are increasingly ineffective against these dangerous pests. A 2016 vote on the project claimed a solid majority of support in most of the surrounding counties. "At the end of the day, our hope is to be able to control this mosquito more efficiently and keep our population below any sort of disease transmission threshold," said Andrea Leal, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito District. "Our toolbox for Aedes aegypti control is shrinking, unfortunately, and that's making us think outside of the box."
A Billion Lab-Grown Mosquitos Are Being Released and People Are Freaking Out
16895V. Kipnis, Vice, 2021-04-29 17:08:03.
On Thursday afternoon, six Florida Keys residents will walk out into their yards and set out aquamarine cardboard boxes filled with mosquito larvae. Then, water will be poured into the containers. For the next ten days, as the mosquitoes grow into adults, their neighbors will be waiting to see what happens next. That’s because these aren’t just any mosquitoes: These are genetically-modified organisms, known as the OX5034, and they were made in a laboratory in London. Under a two-year Experimental Use Permit approved by the EPA, the British biotech firm Oxitec has been green-lit to release over 1 billion genetically modified mosquitoes across 6,600 acres in Florida and Texas. For their pilot project, they’re focusing on the lower Florida Keys, where in the coming 12 weeks, they plan to release 144,000 non-biting male mosquitoes from six different locations—making this the first time ever that a genetically-engineered mosquito will be let out into an open ecosystem in the United States.
The mosquito-bite fight begins
16883F. Billingsley, Click2Houston, 2021-04-29 15:10:43.
Anyone who thought February’s freeze would kill all the mosquitos is biting up the wrong leg. They are back and, seemingly so, with a vengeance (did surviving just make them stronger, one wonders?). In Florida this week, an interesting and controversial fight against the bite begins after more than a decade of getting there. The company Oxitec will be releasing 144,000 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in the Florida Keys designed to fight the mosquito population. Did you ever take the antibiotic tetracycline? I took it to fight acne as a kid but it treats lots of other bacterial infections. Oxitec has engineered all their mosquitoes with a gene that makes only the females depend on tetracycline. Without it, the females die and it’s the females that bite. So all the eggs from the engineered mosquitoes will be shipped to Florida and when they hatch, the engineered female mosquitoes won’t have any tetracycline and they are toast.
Nearly 144K GMO Mosquitoes to be Released in South Florida: What We Know
16902J. Prigeon, 6 South Florida, 2021-04-28 17:46:54.
Nearly 144,000 genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in South Florida this week as part of an effort to reduce the population disease-carrying mosquitoes. The landmark release of GMO insects marks the beginning of the U.S.-approved program to control the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the area. The project will place boxes loaded with Oxitec’s non-biting male mosquitoes in six areas around the Florida Keys to mate with biting female mosquitoes. As a result of the encounters, the female offspring will not survive and – hopefully – will reduce the dangerous mosquito's population in the area.
Nation’s first trial of genetically modified mosquitoes starts in Florida Keys
16889S. Brock, TODAY, 2021-04-28 15:15:04.
To control the population of potentially disease-spreading mosquitoes, a controversial project is getting underway in the Florida Keys, highlighted by the release of even more mosquitoes that have been genetically modified. NBC’s Sam Brock reports for TODAY from Miami.
Florida Unleashing Thousands of Mosquitoes
16886Anonymous, The Weather Channel, 2021-04-28 15:11:10.
Florida will begin releasing thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Keys this week to combat diseases like Zika and dengue. But the government’s green light has some residents seeing red.
GMO mosquitoes to be released in Florida Keys
16880NBC News, WRCBtv, 2021-04-28 15:02:40.
Florida will begin releasing genetically modified mosquitoes this week as part of its efforts to control one of the disease-spreading species of the biting insect. The state will release almost 144,000 nonbiting male mosquitoes in the coming weeks engineered by the British firm Oxitec that are meant to mate with biting females, with any resulting female offspring unable to survive. The project was approved after years of public comment and official review. "As we are seeing development of resistance to some of our current control methods, we are in need of new tools to combat this mosquito," Andrea Leal, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said in a press release. The project is meant to control the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread dengue fever, Zika virus and yellow fever, as well as heartworm to pets and animals.
Nearly 150,000 Gene-Hacked Mosquitoes to Be Unleashed in Florida
16878S. Kim, Newsweek, 2021-04-28 14:58:55.
Nearly 150,000 mosquitoes that have been genetically modified by Oxitec, a biotechnology company based in the U.K., will be released across parts of Monroe County's Florida Keys region starting this week. The release is part of an experiment to help combat a disease-transmitting local mosquito population (the Aedes aegypti mosquito species) that is responsible for "virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans" such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever, the company says. Speaking to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Oxitec said: "We are releasing 12,000 [mosquitoes] per week for 12 weeks," which equates to a total of 144,000 mosquitoes, the spokesperson added. The experiment—a collaboration between the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec—received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). It is also supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as an independent advisory board, Oxitec says.
Genetically modified mosquito larvae to be released in Florida Keys
16869E. Helmore, The Guardian, 2021-04-28 14:13:40.
The Florida Keys will this week see the release of genetically modified, non-biting male mosquito larvae as part of a controversial program designed to curb the spread of insect-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and British firm biotech Oxitec announced last week that 12,000 of the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito species are expected to emerge each week for twelve weeks from six locations: two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key. US researchers seek citizen scientists as billions of Brood X cicadas set to emerge Eventually it is planned that hundreds of millions of the mosquitoes might be released. Oxitec’s non-biting male mosquitoes will mate with the local biting female mosquitoes and since the female offspring cannot themselves survive to reproduce, the population of Aedes aegypti is subsequently controlled. According to the CDC, the genetically modified mosquitoes carry two types of genes: a fluorescent marker gene that glows under a special red light, and a self-limiting gene that prevents female mosquito offspring from surviving to adulthood.
Florida set to release swarms of GMO mosquitoes as residents decry ‘criminal experiment’ by Bill Gates-backed biotech
16866rt com, rt com, 2021-04-28 14:04:30.
A plan to release thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes in an effort to combat disease in the Florida Keys has triggered dire concerns among locals, some saying the “criminal” experiment will turn them into guinea pigs. Spearheaded by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec, a British biotech firm that’s received backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the project aims to turn the first swarms of gene-edited bugs loose into the Keys starting sometime this week, the two bodies announced in a joint statement. For the first leg of the plan, set to be expanded later, mosquito boxes will be placed at six locations, which over 12 weeks will release around 144,000 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, a species most closely linked with transmitting illnesses such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever. If all goes according to plan, the male, non-biting bugs will mate with local biting females, whose female offspring are programmed to die off, helping to control the Aedes aegypti population and reduce the spread of disease. While the particular species makes up only about 4% of the overall population in the Keys, it is behind “virtually all” mosquito-borne diseases passed to humans, as well as some that are transmitted to animals, such as heartworm, according to Oxitec.
BUZZ OFF Florida residents blast pest control ‘TERRORISTS’ over plans to unleash a BILLION mutant mosquitoes in the Keys
16857J. Bentley-York, The SUN, 2021-04-27 20:46:15.
The areas Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) are set to release the gene hacked ‘fraken-squitoes' in a bid to fight insect-borne viruses like yellow fever. A BILLION mutant mosquitoes are set to be released in the Keys to fight insect-borne viruses like yellow fever Florida pest control chiefs have been branded “terrorists” over the plans. The trial is set to begin this week, seeing a first phase of up to 144,000 modified mosquitoes released over the next 12 weeks. The project aims to reduce the numbers of Aedes aegypti species which are known for carrying diseases including dengue, chikungunya, zika and yellow fever. The male mosquitoes, developed by British biotech company Oxitect, do not bite, and will be introduced in small areas in a select number of neighborhoods in the Monroe area. However, Florida residents are calling on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end "this live experiment" as they blasted the organisation as “terrorists.” Barry Wray of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition said: “People here in Florida do not consent to the genetically engineered mosquitoes or to being human experiments.”
Florida to release a billion genetically modified mosquitoes and people are worried
16871B. Robinson, indy100, 2021-04-27 14:19:58.
It sounds like the pitch for a horror movie, but Florida’s about to release up to a billion genetically modified mosquitoes in the Keys. What could go wrong? Florida residents and environmentalists are already voicing their concerns after state officials and Oxitec, a biotechnology a UK-based biotechnology company, announced plans to release the critters over a two year period in Monroe County, in the Florida Keys section of the state. But why? In a press release from Friends of the Earth, they state that the project attempts to reduce the number of Aedes aegypti, one of the many species of mosquitoes that carry infectious diseases such as Yellow Fever and Zika.
Thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes being released in Florida
16863T. Lapin, New York Post, 2021-04-27 13:58:39.
Thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes have begun to be released in Florida this week as part of an effort to combat a disease-spreading species of the insect. The buzzy project, from British biotech company Oxitec, aims to curb the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can spread diseases such as Zika and dengue fever, The Miami Herald reported. The project aims to have genetically modified male mosquitoes mate with non-modified females, which are the ones that bite. A so-called “death mechanism” would then act to prevent any resulting female offspring from surviving.
Halt This Nightmare’: Alarm as Florida Set to Begin Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes
16861J. Johnson, Common Dreams, 2021-04-26 20:59:02.
Environmentalists and Florida residents voiced concern and outrage Monday as state government officials and the biotechnology giant Oxitec announced plans to move ahead this week with a pilot project that involves releasing up to a billion genetically engineered mosquitoes in Monroe County over a two-year period. Presented by local authorities as an effort to control the population of Aedes aegypti—a mosquito species that can carry both the dengue and yellow fever virus—critics warn that the effort's supposed benefits and its potential negative consequences have not been sufficiently studied. Responding to news that the first boxes of genetically modified mosquitos are set to be placed in six locations in Monroe County this week, Friends of the Earth noted in a press release that "scientists have raised concerns that GE mosquitoes could create hybrid wild mosquitoes which could worsen the spread of mosquito-borne diseases and could be more resistant to insecticides than the original wild mosquitoes."
Florida residents claim ‘pest control trial’ that will release up to a BILLION genetically engineered mosquitos in the Keys to reduce species carrying diseases is ‘TERRORISM’
16859S. Liberatore, Daily Mail, 2021-04-26 20:54:47.
The Florida Keys will soon be buzzing with close to a billion 'fraken-squitoes' – gene-hacked mosquitoes aimed at eradicating a disease carrying mosquito. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec, a British biotech company, are starting the first-ever U.S. release of genetically engineered (GE) Aedes aegypti mosquitoes this week, which will see up to a billion over a two-year period. The project aims to reduce the numbers of Aedes aegypti, one of several mosquito species that can carry diseases including dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. Floridians, however, are calling on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end 'this live experiment' saying they are being subjected to terrorism by the FKMCD.
Coalition Against GMO Mosquito Condemns Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes
16853GMO Free USA, 3BL CSRwire, 2021-04-26 20:40:26.
Despite a decade of community opposition, the experimental release of genetically engineered mosquitoes begins today in the Florida Keys. British biotech corporation, Oxitec, in collaboration with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, plans to release up to a billion genetically engineered mosquitoes in two phases. GMO Free USA and the Coalition Against GMO Mosquitoes condemn the uncontrolled release and are airing radio spots to educate Florida Keys residents about the health and environmental risks. This unprecedented mass release of a genetically engineered insect is the first of its kind in the United States and many Florida Keys residents remain unaware. The Coalition Against GMO Mosquitoes recently launched an educational website, StopGMM.com, and sponsored a local billboard to increase public awareness and galvanize opposition. The new radio spot will run daily on multiple stations. Oxitec and the FKMCD have failed to provide sufficient answers to the most pressing questions posed by concerned residents. Some residents have reached out to government officials at the EPA, in Congress and the White House to request intervention to halt the experiment until thorough research is conducted.
Nation’s First Trial Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Starts In Florida Keys
16851N. Klingener, WLRN, 2021-04-26 20:35:50.
Boxes containing the eggs of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, water and a little food are being placed in six locations in the Lower and Middle Keys this week — in a trial that will be the first of its kind in the United States. The genetic modification is intended so that female offspring won't survive. Female mosquitoes are the ones that bite and can transmit diseases like dengue and zika. The genetically modified males are supposed to breed with wild females — and then their female offspring won't survive, either. Andrea Leal is in charge of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. The district has been working with the British firm Oxitec for more than a decade, since a 2009-10 outbreak of dengue fever in Key West.
Genetically-engineered mosquitoes set for release in Florida Keys: Science offers tool to fight Zika, dengue, malaria but critics claim it’s unnecessary and potentially dangerous
16808J. Musto, Genetic Literacy Project, 2021-04-22 16:02:53.
U.K.-based biotechnology company Oxitec has partnered with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District in an effort to control the invasive and disease-spreading female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the region. Oxitec’s [genetically modified] male mosquitoes — which don’t bite, unlike the recently-discovered yellow fever-carrying Aedes scapularis mosquitoes — will be introduced in small areas in a select number of neighborhoods between mile markers 10 and 93 in the Keys. In recent reporting from Undark, the non-profit digital science magazine notes that Oxitec had been proposing an experimental release in the Keys for years and that it had been rejected before in both Key Haven and Key West — though some residents in surrounding areas voted in support of the release.
UK biotech firm’s 750 mn GM mosquitoes will mate with females off Florida, sow a deadly gene
16819S. Ramesh, The Print, 2021-04-20 16:27:48.
Oxitec, a UK-based biotechnology company, plans to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys islands off the US this month as part of a trial to curb mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and the one caused by the Zika virus. This is the latest genetic engineering experiment targeting mosquitoes that is aimed at tackling diseases that continue to kill thousands every year — an approach that has critics as well as backers. Only females of mosquitoes bite, while males feed on all nectar. The mosquitoes Oxitec plans to release will all be male, carrying a protein that will kill all their female offspring. The exact locations where the mosquitoes will be released have not been made public. The objective over time is to reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads both the above-mentioned diseases as well as chikungunya and yellow fever. Mosquito populations in Florida are believed to have grown resistant to a common group of insecticides, prompting worries.
Florida to release genetically modified mosquitoes to fight disease
16812K. Jones, WND, 2021-04-17 16:07:26.
A biotechnology company will soon release genetically modified mosquitoes in certain areas of the Florida Keys in order to combat infectious diseases spread by the parasitic insects.The findings could lead to a new method for combating the spread of diseases such as the Zika virus and dengue fever, according to experts. Both diseases are commonly attributed to mosquito bites in humans.Fox News reported that a strain of mosquitoes developed by a United Kingdom-based company called Oxitec -- partnered with the Keys' Mosquito Control District -- will soon be released into a select number of neighborhoods in Florida. The aim of the experimental program is to control the population of the female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which make life insufferable for many residents of the Keys.
Dengue fever and Zika The first genetically modified mosquitoes are released in Florida to fight disease
16805M. Woolridge, The Daily Guardian, 2021-04-17 15:46:01.
Biotechnology Corporation Oxitec Planning to release transgenic mosquitoes in Florida Keys. The company says its technology aims to combat dengue fever, a deadly disease transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegyptiIn addition to other diseases such as Zika.According to Who is the And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. However, some neighbors are against releasing this transgenic mosquito because they fear that they will become so Guinea pigs. Oxitec Attempts to release genetically modified mosquitoes from 2011But it was always getting delayed due to discussions of places and some scholars. Despite this, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District agreed to Exam, Which will take place at various locations at Keys.
Scientists are now playing god with mosquitoes
16794M. Wehner, BGR, 2021-04-15 13:13:24.
Preventing illnesses in humans is a high priority for scientists that devote their lives to finding cures and techniques that keep people healthy, but sometimes a plan comes along that is so wild it can cause even the most devoted science fans to furrow their brow. In Florida, dengue fever regularly sickens over 100 people per year, and many of those individuals that contracted the virus are believed to have received it locally via mosquitos. Now, in what can only be described as the real-life equivalent of a made-for-TV sci-fi movie, scientists in Florida are prepared to unleash a swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes that will hopefully cut down on the number of the biting insects and, as a result, lower the numbers of mosquito-borne illnesses. The company behind the “OX5034” modified mosquitos is called Oxitec, and while it’s gained approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, there are still plenty of critics that fear unforeseen consequences.
First GMO mosquitoes to be released in the Florida Keys
16688T. White, UNDARK, 2021-04-12 15:18:49.
Oxitec says its technology will combat dengue fever, a potentially life-threatening disease, and other mosquito-borne viruses — such as Zika — mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. While there have been more than 7,300 dengue cases reported in the United States between 2010 and 2020, a majority are contracted in Asia and the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida, however, there were 41 travel-related cases in 2020, compared with 71 cases that were transmitted locally. Native mosquitoes in Florida are increasingly resistant to the most common form of control — insecticide — and scientists say they need new and better techniques to control the insects and the diseases they carry. “There aren’t any other tools that we have. Mosquito nets don’t work. Vaccines are under development but need to be fully efficacious,” says Michael Bonsall, a mathematical biologist at the University of Oxford, who is not affiliated with Oxitec but has collaborated with the company in the past, and who worked with the World Health Organization to produce a GM mosquito-testing framework.
Village hears from experts as genetic-mosquito release experiment nears.
16678J. McCarthy, KEYSWEEKLY, 2021-03-26 14:56:47.
On March 18, Islamorada Village Council heard from several independent scientists who discussed information and issues behind the genetically modified mosquitoes for population and disease suppression. The scientists collectively said they’re neither for nor against the release. A representative from the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and one from Oxitec responded following the presentation. Fred Gould, professor of North Carolina State’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, briefly explained the strain of mosquitoes (OX5034) set for release. He said he was involved with another strain of genetically modified mosquitoes in development in 2010 when a field case study was conducted in Mexico. “In the laboratory, it turned out the male mosquitoes flew fine and mated well. But in the real environment, they weren’t as strong as the wild type mosquitoes and they basically had 3% of the matings. Instead of having half the matings, they had very few,” he said. Gould went on to say that this is also shown in work by Oxitec in Brazil, where it turns out that the genetic mosquitoes “are not very fit.” “It would take 30 of them, at least, to be equal to an individual wild type in terms of how many matings you have,” he said. “When you’re thinking about that, you have to recognize you have to release a lot of mosquitoes in order to have any activity. I just want to bring that home to you that it goes up and down as to what that percent fitness is, and we don’t know what that’ll look like in Florida. “Will it work? I want to say it might work just fine,” he continued. “There’s a chance that they’ll be doing these releases and it won’t be a simple thing.”
Mosquito anxiety prompts query from congressman
16592T. Java, Keynews.com, 2021-03-10 20:09:26.
Anxiety among some residents over the pending release of hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes next month in undisclosed locations throughout the Florida Keys has prompted Congressman Carlos Gimenez to seek answers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and Oxitec, a British-based biotech company, plan to release genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in selected neighborhoods between mile markers 10 and 93 as a way to control the wild population of the disease-carrying pest. This is the first experiment of its kind in the U.S.
Tensions rise as GM mosquito release nears in Florida Keys
16520T. O'Hara, Keynews.com, 2021-03-03 20:29:44.
Tensions seem to be rising as a planned release of genetically modified mosquitoes nears. The British-based biotech company Oxitec plans to release genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the Florida Keys sometime after April, but has yet to disclose exact locations in the Keys or a date.
Florida Keys moves forward with genetically modified mosquitoes
16524H. Vela, local10.com, 2021-03-03 18:08:13.
The feared GMO mosquitoes are not going away. Opponents of the technology fear the date of the release in the Florida Keys is getting closer, and they are not ready for the possible repercussions of the experiment. The fight over whether or not to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Monroe County has been going on for almost a decade. Barry Wray said the mosquito control team’s contractor wants to deliver the first batch in April. Wray, the executive director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, said he doesn’t believe there is enough evidence to prove that the technology is safe. He said there is a need for independent scientific investigation. “You don’t really know what the long-term outcomes could be or how to quantify those risks, and if you can’t do that scientifically, then you don’t know how to responsibly mitigate it or detect if something is going awry,” Wray said.
When and where will millions of mosquitoes be released? Here are details for Florida Keys
16485D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2021-02-25 21:09:17.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District announced this week a wide and vague planned range of deployment for the lab-designed mosquitoes — neighborhoods from mile marker 10 to 93. The trial is being conducted by British biotech company Oxitec. It’s a method approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Florida, and the mosquito control district’s five-member board, to try to eradicate or significantly reduce the local population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Company uses engineered mosquitoes to prevent diseases
16514N. Herzog and D. Niesel, The Daily News, 2021-02-24 21:47:32.
It’s amazing how many serious infectious diseases are transmitted by insects like ticks, fleas and mosquitoes. These are called vector-borne diseases, which are responsible for significant human suffering and economic disruption. Mosquitoes are responsible for the spread of many viral diseases including Zika, malaria, West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus and many others. For the majority of these diseases, we don’t have effective therapeutics or vaccines to treat those that get sick. One approach to control these diseases is to eliminate or reduce the arthropod or insect vector populations using broad spectrum pesticides. These pesticides can cause health problems in humans, and the vectors can become resistant to these chemicals. A new strategy has emerged that involves genetically modifying mosquitoes to disrupt their ability to reproduce. This limits the mosquito population, reducing the possibility of disease spread.
Mosquito trial will begin in April, but Keys locations won’t be disclosed
16483S. Matthis, KEYSWEEKLY, 2021-02-23 20:54:42.
FKMCD spokesman Chad Huff wrote in an email, “The physical location of each box is still being finalized. Since most will be situated on private property at owner request, FKMCD-Oxitec will NOT be providing specific addresses due to privacy concerns and protection of project integrity.” Phil Goodman, chairman of the FKMCD said the decision to keep addresses confidential was an operations decision, not a decision by the elected board. “Right now, we don’t have any specific sites that are 100 percent selected,” said Andrea Leal, executive director of the FKMCD. “We are just narrowing down areas with potential.”
Locals protest over genetically modified mosquito plan in Florida Keys
16479D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2021-02-23 14:11:23.
Sometime this year, somewhere in the Florida Keys, a British biotech company is expected to release millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes in an effort to breed out of existence an invasive species of bug responsible for the transmittal of deadly diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika. But, the pilot project remains controversial, and a large segment of people who live in the island chain are trying to stop it. About two dozen people gathered Sunday morning outside the Murray Nelson Government and Cultural Arts Center in Key Largo to protest the planned release of the lab-designed bugs.
Oxitec gears up for test releases
16386T. O'Hara, Keynews.com, 2021-02-10 15:10:19.
The United Kingdom-based biotech company Oxitec will soon announce the test locations and timetable for releasing its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
Fear of Oxitec mosquito release grows
15541T. Java, Florida Keys Free Press, 2020-12-16 20:11:11.
A local effort has emerged to exclude Key Largo from a test release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes planned for the spring. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District have approved a release of United Kingdom-based biotech company Oxitec’s GMO insects in an effort to battle the disease-carrying wild mosquito population by effectively breeding it out of existence.
Fighting Mosquito With GMO Mosquito: The Battle Brewing in the Florida Keys
15005S. MacLaughlin, NBC 6 South Florida, 2020-11-06 15:32:04.
Scientists are a few months into an experiment to stop the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito. Their weapon of choice? A genetically modified mosquito. But some environment advocates question the strategy. This year, the Florida Keys had an outbreak of Dengue fever, which was the first time that had happened in 10 years. It gives new urgency to the controversial effort to get rid of the Aedes aegypti, which has become harder to fight.
Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes
14998S. McGlaun, Slash Gear, 2020-11-05 15:14:43.
Local officials in Florida have announced that they have approved 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released into the environment to reduce local populations of the bloodsucking creatures. The goal of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is to help reduce the number of mosquitoes carrying diseases like dengue or the Zika virus. Approval to release the bugs came after environmental groups warned of unintended consequences.
Educating the Public on Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
18527Buckner, Eva A., UF - IFAS, 2020-10-26 16:04:58.
In May 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Oxitec’s Experimental Use Permit to carry out pilot projects in the Florida Keys. Oxitec is a biotechnology company founded in 2002 out of Oxford University in the United Kingdom. They will be collaborating with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. One of the pilot projects will involve releasing Oxitec’s GM Ae. aegypti male mosquitoes (strain OX5034) into a small area to test their ability to reduce the population of wild Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. This project will be the first time that GM mosquitoes are released into nature in the U.S. and is expected to begin in early spring 2021 and continue through spring 2022. The purpose of this document is to provide essential information about GM mosquitoes to the public and those involved in mosquito control in Florida, the U.S., and beyond. Below we present a series of answers to frequently asked questions about the nature of GM mosquitoes, the argument for using GM mosquitoes to control mosquito-transmitted diseases, and the potential impact of this project on the environment and human health. Our hope is that these answers will provide readers with insight into the reasons why GM mosquitoes are being tested for mosquito control in Florida and elsewhere.
FKMCD-OXITEC Mosquito Project
14718FKMCD and OXITEC, Website, 2020-10-16 18:11:37.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) Board of Commissioners approved the FKMCD-Oxitec Investigational Agreement for the release of Oxitec’s Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This project will be overseen by FKMCD, the EPA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Independent evaluation of the project will be provided by the U.S. CDC, University of Florida, Monroe County Department of Health, and local leaders, forming a broad and diverse coalition to support this effort.
Florida to Release 750 Million GMO Mosquitoes in 2021
14703Seeker, Seeker, 2020-10-13 18:11:21.
The U.S. EPA gave the green light to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys in 2021 — here’s what we know.
You should be excited that scientists are releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes this year
14568L. Westreich, Massive Science, 2020-09-27 19:27:28.
GM mosquitoes are successful in reducing mosquito populations, and reducing disease spread
The Con Job at Mosquito Control Board
14571E. Russo and B. Wray, keysnews.com, 2020-09-26 19:32:07.
Shouldn’t there be a consensus among scholars, scientists, experts and the public that this new technology is safe?
GMOs make war on mosquitoes
14323Staff, Kenosha News, 2020-09-05 15:13:38.
Given that recent record, we were a bit surprised to read that there was a ruckus over genetically modified mosquitoes going on in the Florida Keys.
Why Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Won’t Come to Texas Anytime Soon
14317C. Adams, RA News, 2020-09-04 15:03:04.
Talks about releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Houston began in 2018 between Harris County and Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based company that produces sustainable technologies or transgenic methodologies to stem the impact of disease-spreading insects. Talk also began about a similar action in Monroe County, Fla.
An accident waiting to happen: Tech company to release 750 MILLION GMO mosquitoes in Florida to fight dengue fever
14232Z. Sky, NEWSTARGET, 2020-08-30 20:31:13.
Oxitec plans to release 750 million OX5034s into the Florida Keys, something that sounds like the beginning of a doomed science-fiction movie. But the most shocking thing here is the fact that Oxitec received the EPA’s approval in May.
Genetically-modified mosquito plan offers hope for Keys, world
14256P. Goodman, keynews.com, 2020-08-29 14:25:12.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners voted 4-to-1 to approve a trial using Oxitec’s second-generation genetically modified mosquitoes. I
The good mosquito versus the bad
14240D. Datta, Business Standard, 2020-08-29 14:01:00.
Starting 2021, around 750 million genetically modified (GM) Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes will be released in batches into the Florida Keys.
Florida Will Release 750 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Stop Disease Spread
14177A. Fahmy, verywell health, 2020-08-28 14:36:32.
The hope is to prevent the spread of Dengue fever, a painful virus acquired only by mosquito bite which made a reappearance in the Florida Keys in 2009.
Deep dive: Florida’s GM mosquito experiment aims to rewrite rules of vector-borne diseases
14084S. Kannan, India Today, 2020-08-26 14:33:36.
A pathbreaking bioengineering experiment on mosquito populations that could have massive implications for tropical malaria-affected countries like India has got underway in Florida, US.
Bug board OKs release of genetically modified mosquitoes
14151T. O'Hara, keynews.com, 2020-08-26 13:08:07.
After nearly 10 years of debate, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board has approved an agreement with biotech company Oxitec to conduct a test release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Monroe County as part of a mosquito limiting or eradication plan.
Genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in the Florida Keys to combat dengue, zika, and yellow fever.
14148Yucatan Times, Yucatan Times, 2020-08-26 13:04:27.
The Florida Keys will be the scene of the first test in the United States with genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, an alternative to insecticides and larvicides to end the transmission of diseases such as dengue, zika and yellow fever that has always been surrounded by controversy.
750 million genetically modified mosquitoes soon released in the wild!
14093explica, explica, 2020-08-25 14:42:52.
Rather frightening mosquitoes will be released on an archipelago in Florida. The goal? Reduce the population of their more dangerous congeners who can transmit certain diseases.
US to Use Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Dengue Fever
14090H. Badr, Asharq Al-Awsat, 2020-08-25 14:39:32.
After a decade of discussions, officials in Florida have voted to allow the first test in the United States of free-flying, genetically modified mosquitoes that kill any female offspring, as a way to fight the pests and the diseases they spread.
Florida Keys to Use Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Disease
14087B. Lynn, Voice of America, 2020-08-25 14:33:57.
Officials in the Florida Keys plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes next year in an effort to fight insect-borne diseases.
Florida Approves Controversial Plan to Release 750 Million Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
14096D. Rakshit, Swaddle, 2020-08-24 14:46:17.
Authorities in Florida have approved a pilot project that will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes locally, in a bid to reduce the populations of mosquitoes that cause that cause dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever
Mutant bugs released to fight disease
14081The Day, The Day, 2020-08-24 14:20:37.
Authorities have approved the scheme in Florida but environmental groups are furious, calling it a “Jurassic Park experiment” that will unleash a “mutant bug” into the ecosystem.
More than 750 million GMO mosquitoes to be released over Florida Keys – what could go wrong?
14145E. Huff, Natural News, 2020-08-24 12:59:20.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) has given Oxitec, a corporation we have reported on in the past, permission to unleash some 750 million GMO mosquitos in Monroe County, Florida, over the next two years.
Florida to release genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent diseases like Zika
14009The West News, The West News, 2020-08-23 17:50:16.
Local authorities on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a two-year period, starting in 2021.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight
14003S. Milius, ScienceNews, 2020-08-22 17:44:31.
After a decade of fits and starts, officials in the Florida Keys have voted to allow the first test in the United States of free-flying, genetically modified mosquitoes as a way to fight the pests and the diseases they spread.
Florida Will Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Disease in the Keys
14000S. Harrell, Spectrum News, 2020-08-21 17:40:14.
Following lengthy federal and state procedures, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District this week approved a plan to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Keys region to combat an invasive, disease-carrying species of the insect.
Florida is releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the world. Here’s why
13992H. Schriber, Deseret News, 2020-08-21 17:35:50.
Florida officials plan to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys over the next two years as a way to prevent diseases like the Zika virus. The project will begin in 2021. The Environment Protection Agency approved the idea in May. The project will test if one of these mosquitoes can work better than spraying insecticides to stop these insects from spreading potentially fatal viruses, according to CNN.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Be Released In Florida Keys
13989A. Snow, The Daily Wire, 2020-08-21 17:33:00.
CNN reported that the genetically modified bugs, called OX5034, have been “altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, well before hatching and growing large enough to bite and spread disease.” Since it’s the female of the species that bite, they are the ones that carry diseases. Males, the outlet reported, eat nectar.
Release 750 Million Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Into the Wild, They Said
13986C. Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 2020-08-21 17:31:14.
Corporate scientists have received final approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release hundreds of millions of genetically altered mosquitoes into the Florida Keys. The goal? To begin reining in the mosquito population, which is only expected to increase as climate change continues to warm and flood the low-lying, tropical Keys. But some environmental groups object strongly to the move.
Florida releasing genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent diseases like Zika
13984N. Lanese, LiveScience, 2020-08-21 17:29:18.
Hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes will soon be released in the Florida Keys island chain to wipe out local populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes, according to news reports.
750 Million GM Mosquitoes Will Be Released in the Florida Keys
13982L. Winter, The Scientist, 2020-08-21 17:27:30.
With the aim of reducing rates of the mosquito-borne illnesses yellow fever and dengue, a pilot program will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021, thanks to approval by the barrier islands’ Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday (August 18)
Hundreds Of Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Approved For Release In US
13996J. Vibes, Anonymous News, 2020-08-20 17:37:24.
A Biotech company called Oxitec has received permission from the government to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
Why Hundreds of Millions of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Will Soon Be Released in Florida
13979K. Gander, Newsweek, 2020-08-20 17:22:07.
Hundreds of millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes will soon be released in Florida, in a first for the U.S. On Tuesday, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) approved plans to release the insects, who do not bite, as part of a pilot project launching next yea
Florida to release genetically modified mosquitoes, detractors blast ‘Jurassic Park’ experiment
13969D. Aaro, Fox News, 2020-08-20 15:49:28.
Local authorities on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a two-year period, starting in 2021, with the hope of preventing diseases such as the Zika virus but has faced blowback and comparisons to a Steven Spielberg thriller.
750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released across Florida Keys
13966A. Zahid, Sky News, 2020-08-20 15:47:05.
Authorities have approved plans for genetically modified mosquitoes to be released across the Florida Keys from next year. British-based firm Oxitec has designed the project to test whether the altered mosquitoes are a viable alternative to pesticides to control and prevent the spread of diseases, including Zika and dengue.
750 million GM mosquitos set for release in Florida Keys.
13961Editorial Staff, E&T, 2020-08-20 15:43:13.
Local authorities have approved proposals to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified (GM) modified mosquitos in Florida, in an effort to control populations of diseases spread by the organism.
Florida Plans to Fix Its Mosquito Problem With 750 Million More Mosquitoes
13959D. Noor, Gizmodo, 2020-08-20 15:40:34.
Hundreds of millions of mosquitos will soon be released in Florida. On purpose. The mosquitoes are being released as a form of pest control, but they could wreak havoc on local ecosystems.
Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects to be released
13955BBC, BBC, 2020-08-20 15:37:01.
Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations. The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus.
Florida OKs release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Keys to slow insect disease spread
13952S. Mann, Just the News, 2020-08-20 15:34:23.
Florida officials are authorizing a biotech company to release hundreds of millions of genetically-modified male mosquitoes into the Florida Keys to reduce future mosquito populations that spread diseases including yellow fever and malaria.
Florida Keys to release modified mosqutioes to fight illness
13949C. Anderson, Associated Press, 2020-08-20 15:30:15.
Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus. The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot project in 2021 involving the striped-legged Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is not native to Florida.
Florida to Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Against Local Residents’ Wishes
13946N. Rice, People, 2020-08-20 15:27:38.
A plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has received final approval. According to CNN, on Tuesday, local authorities approved a plan to release the genetically modified mosquitoes in the Sunshine State's string of islands, with the hope of preventing a string of diseases that the insects can carry.
Plan to Release 750M GMO Mosquitoes Gets Go Ahead
13944R. Quinn, newser, 2020-08-20 15:23:41.
The plan to release the genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes received final approval from local authorities Tuesday, causing an outcry from groups opposed to what they call a "Jurassic Park experiment," CNN reports.
‘A Jurassic Park Experiment’: Watchdog Groups Denounce Decision to Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in Florida
13975L. Newcomb, Common Dreams, 2020-08-19 15:54:09.
Food safety and environmental groups Wednesday condemned a decision by officials in Florida to approve the release of 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes, a pilot project aimed at reducing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Florida Keys to release 750M genetically modified mosquitoes
13972D. Haynes, UPI, 2020-08-19 15:51:58.
Local authorities in the Florida Keys gave their approval Wednesday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of dengue fever and other diseases. The Monroe County Mosquito Control District signed off on the project, which would release about 750 million mosquitoes engineered to produce dead offspring.
FKMCD Board Approves Oxitec Pilot
14929C. Huff, FKMCD in the News, 2020-08-19 15:48:10.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District’s (FKMCD) five member board has APPROVED a proposal by Oxitec to utilize non-biting male, genetically modified mosquitoes as part of a trial to determine their effectiveness in controlling the wild population of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito which is responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue fever. FKMCD and Oxitec have both said that the pilot project will not take place until 2021. The FKMCD board’s four to one vote in FAVOR comes after Federal and State approvals of an ‘Experimental Use Permit’ issued earlier this summer by the Environmental Protection Agency and The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. F
To combat disease-spreading mosquitoes in the Keys, leaders vote to unleash lab bugs
13964D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2020-08-19 15:44:52.
Florida Keys officials have voted to allow the experimental release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into a yet-to-be-decided area of the island chain.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Cleared for Florida Keys Release
13901J. Kay, Bloomber Law, 2020-08-18 13:36:35.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in 2021 to try to reduce the population of a biting insect pest that spreads Zika, dengue fever, and yellow fever, local officials said Tuesday.
Keys Mosquito Control Board Approves First U.S. Trial Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
13887N. Klingener, WLRN, 2020-08-18 13:16:55.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board approved a trial Tuesday of genetically modified mosquitoes on the island chain. This would be the first U.S. trial of the genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can transmit diseases like Zika and dengue.
Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida
13587wqad.com, WQAD8, 2020-07-30 12:51:49.
Cases of dengue fever are on the rise in the Florida Keys. One biotech company wants to release genetically modified mosquitoes for a pilot program.
Why are scientists creating genetically modified mosquitoes?
13503The Week Staff, The Week, 2020-07-27 11:35:19.
The Week Staff. The Week (2020). Scientists plan to release altered mosquitoes designed to sabotage the species' ability to reproduce. Is this safe? Here's everything you need to know:
Florida Keys delays vote on release of 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes after public outcry
13506D. Dukule, Friends of the Earth, 2020-07-22 12:41:45.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) today delayed its vote on the proposed release of genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes due to concerns over COVID-19. The decision to delay the vote follows public outcry and scientific dispute over the risks posed to public health and the environment by this experimental release. The approval would have permitted the British company Oxitec to release 750 million GE mosquitoes over a two-year period in Monroe County, Florida, starting as soon as this summer.
Release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys put on hold
13355D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2020-07-21 19:27:08.
Opponents of a plan to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys landed a temporary win on Tuesday.
EPA approves field trials of genetically modified mosquito
13449A. Wernick, WBFO npr, 2020-07-17 16:18:01.
The Environmental Protection Agency has given biotech company Oxitec the go-ahead to test the effectiveness of genetically modified mosquitoes in parts of Florida and Texas. Oxitec has been developing genetically modified mosquitoes in hopes of reducing local populations of mosquitoes that carry dengue fever, yellow fever and the Zika virus. About 750,000 people die each year from mosquito-borne illnesses, making the insect indirectly responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in the world.
Beyone the buzz
13166C. Watson, The Journal Gazette, 2020-07-07 14:45:26.
Lately I have found I need to force myself to follow science stories about something besides the pandemic. A story I consider hopeful involves genetically modified mosquitoes; we are developing a new tool that can reduce disease and save lives. The goal is to dramatically reduce the mosquito population. Mosquitoes, by biting people and injecting some of their saliva, spread diseases such as yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria. Malaria kills about 600,000 people a year, mostly outside the U.S. The new tool being developed involves modifying the genes of male mosquitoes. The goal is to design a male mosquito that will behave typically, but whose female offspring die almost immediately.
GMO Mosquitoes to be launched in Florida
13162Administration, Editorials 360, 2020-07-01 14:38:18.
In June 2020, the Florida Division of Agriculture and Shopper Providers gave the go-ahead to a plan to launch thousands and thousands of genetically engineered mosquitoes within the Florida Keys this summer time to battle mosquito-borne diseases.1 The plan follows the EPA’s current granting of an experimental use allow (EUP) for the GMO (genetically modified organism) mosquitoes to allow them to be launched in Florida in 2020 and in Texas in 2021.2 The mosquitoes, engineered from the Aedes aegypti mosquito species,3 have been created by the U.S.-owned, Britain-based firm Oxitec, which originated as a spin-off firm from Oxford College and subsidiary of Intrexon.4 The corporate has additionally created genetically modified pink bollworm moths and GMO cabbage moths.
Who is afraid of genetically modified mosquitoes?
12738G. Odogwu, The PUNCH, 2020-06-25 13:27:54.
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 of the moment, we can only boast of the development of the PBR cowpea as the only genetically modified food crop to be approved by the Nigerian government.
Mosquito district workshop focuses on Keys trials
12732S. Matthis, KEYSWEEKLY, 2020-06-25 13:21:52.
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 as dengue fever (there are two new cases in the Keys; see sidebar) and zika.
Genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in Florida and Texas
12735O. Ron, The Jerusalem Post, 2020-06-24 13:24:12.
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, which are the ones who bite, and thus preventing the spread of such illnesses as dengue fever and Zika.
Before genetically modified mosquitoes are released, we need a better EPA
12720N. Kofler and J. Kuzma, The Boston Globe, 2020-06-22 13:07:55.
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 environment for generations to come. Last month, the US Environmental Protection Agency approved the release of genetically modified mosquitoes. Under a 2-year Experimental Use Permit, a company called Oxitec has been granted permission to release over 1 billion genetically modified mosquitoes across 6,600 acres in Florida and Texas.
Florida gives approval to the plan of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes.
12716V. Dalmia, The Andoverleader, 2020-06-20 21:01:10.
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 get new and newer methods to fight our problems. Gone are the days of pesticides.
Are Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Coming To Florida?
12726M. Taylor, Y100, 2020-06-19 13:13:35.
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 most annoying feeling in the world.
The Florida Keys are one step closer to getting genetically modified mosquitoes
12723D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2020-06-19 13:10:57.
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 lab-made male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes throughout Monroe County. The goal is to wipe out the Keys population of the invasive bugs, which carry diseases like dengue fever, Zika and yellow fever. The Florida Department of Health reported a case of dengue fever in the Keys in March.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Approved For Insect Population Control In The U.S.
12705J. Blum, HUFFPOST, 2020-06-18 20:45:30.
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 approval to release its so-called “Friendly” mosquitoes in the U.S. on an experimental trial basis, expected to last until 2022, according to documents provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. The insects will first be released in Monroe County, Florida, and Oxitec has plans to also bring them tT Harris County, Texas.
Florida says ‘this is fine’ to release of genetically modified mosquitoes
12703J. K. Elliot, Global News, 2020-06-18 20:43:23.
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 aegypti, the species of mosquito that spreads diseases such as yellow fever, malaria and chikungunya. However, they’ve been genetically altered to artificially reduce future mosquito populations.
Plan to Release GMO Mosquitoes Moves Ahead
12700A. Dier, newser, 2020-06-18 20:40:30.
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 Oxitec contain a protein, passed to biting female offspring, that is designed to reduce the insect's chance of surviving into adulthood and therefore prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases including Zika and West Nile, reports the Guardian. The EPA has approved two trials, in which the mosquitoes are to be released in Florida's Monroe County this summer and in Texas' Harris County in 2021, though it's facing a lawsuit over its alleged failure to investigate the environmental impact, per the Hill. Facing similar complaints, Florida nonetheless approved its trial on Tuesday.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes get EPA approval for Florida release despite objections from environmental groups
12697S. LaMotte, CNN Health, 2020-06-18 20:37:52.
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 tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment, except without the island," said Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement.
Florida Keys plans killer insect attack on disease-carrying mosquitoes
12693P. Brinkmann, UPI, 2020-06-18 20:33:39.
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 because the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads that and other diseases, has shown resistance to pesticides.
Plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida gets go-ahead
12695O. Milman, The Guardian, 2020-06-17 20:35:58.
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
12457R. Frazin, The Hill, 2020-06-15 20:36:28.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a lawsuit over its approval of a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas
Fact check: Genetically modified mosquitoes are cleared for release in the US
12443A. Staver, USA Today, 2020-06-13 20:24:44.
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
12437Fox 13, Fox 13, 2020-06-09 20:18:09.
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.
12429D. Robitzski, Futurism, 2020-06-09 20:11:41.
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 — but a group of biologists, ecologists, bioethicists, and sustainability researchers writes in an article for The Conversation that they’re concerned about the lack of oversight for the effort to effectively hack the ecosystem.
Company Receives Permit To Release Swarm Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In Florida
12446I. Monzon, International Business Times, 2020-06-08 20:26:29.
A federal agency has provided a biotech company with the proper permit to release a swarm of genetically altered mosquitoes in Florida as a way to curb the spread of diseases in the area. If the company receives the additional approvals, it might begin releasing the mosquitoes this summer. The mosquitoes were bred inside the laboratories of Oxitec, a British biotech firm. The company mainly focuses on transgenically modifying mosquitoes to carry lethal genes designed to be passed onto their offspring.
What else could 2020 bring to Florida? Genetically altered, lab bred mosquitoes
12426J. Haughey, The Center Square, 2020-06-08 20:10:06.
A British biotech company has received an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys this summer. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) board must approve the permit before Oxitec can proceed. The EPA approved Oxitec’s permit May 1 despite 31,174 people objecting to it and 56 people supporting it during a 30-day comment period that expired in mid-October
BUZZ OFF! Swarm of MILLIONS of gene-hacked mosquitoes will be unleashed across USA – to wipe out malaria with ‘death sex’
12423H. Pettit, The Sun, 2020-06-08 20:08:02.
MUTANT mosquitoes created in a lab to stop the spread of deadly diseases like malaria will be unleashed across the US this summer. The gene-hacked bugs, crafted by UK biotech company Oxitec, are designed to kill off or reduce local populations of mosquitoes by mating with them.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Cleared For Release In The US
12432M. Horowitz, Anonymous News, 2020-06-06 20:13:38.
A company called Oxitec has received an experimental use permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to release genetically modified mosquitos into the wild. This would be the first time that such an experiment was attempted within the borders of the US, and the permit would allow for the release of millions of genetically modified mosquitos each week over the next two years. The genetically modified insects will be released in Florida and Texas, but they will easily be able to travel throughout the country from there.
Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida and Texas beginning this summer – silver bullet or jumping the gun?
12409B. Allan, C. Stone, H. Tuten, J. Kuzma and N. Kofler, The Conversation, 2020-06-03 18:53:50.
On May 1, 2020, the company Oxitec received an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release millions of GM mosquitoes (labeled by Oxitec as OX5034) every week over the next two years in Florida and Texas. Females of this mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, transmit dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. When these lab-bred GM males are released and mate with wild females, their female offspring die. Continual, large-scale releases of these OX5034 GM males should eventually cause the temporary collapse of a wild population. However, as vector biologists, geneticists, policy experts and bioethicists, we are concerned that current government oversight and scientific evaluation of GM mosquitoes do not ensure their responsible deployment.
America’s Never-Ending Battle Against Flesh-Eating Worms
16665S. Zhang, The Atlantic, 2020-05-26 14:33:06.
The United States Department of Agriculture undertook what would ultimately become an immense, multidecade effort to wipe out the screwworms, first in the U.S. and then in Mexico and Central America—all the way down to the narrow strip of land that is the Isthmus of Panama. The eradication was a resounding success. But the story does not end there. Containing a disease is one thing. Keeping it contained is another thing entirely, as the coronavirus pandemic is now so dramatically demonstrating. To get the screwworms out, the USDA to this day maintains an international screwworm barrier along the Panama-Colombia border. The barrier is an invisible one, and it is kept in place by constant human effort. Every week, planes drop 14.7 million sterilized screwworms over the rainforest that divides the two countries. A screwworm-rearing plant operates 24/7 in Panama. Inspectors cover thousands of square miles by motorcycle, boat, and horseback, searching for stray screwworm infections north of the border. The slightest oversight could undo all the work that came before.
EPA Approves Genetically Modified Mosquito Trial For Florida Keys
11450Nancy Klingener, WLRN, 2020-05-07 18:22:34.
A plan to test genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has received approval from the federal government.
Mutant mosquitoes one step closer to release in Florida, Texas this summer. Why?
11596K. Camero, The Charlotte Observer, 2020-05-07 15:45:03.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved an experimental use permit for the British biotech company Oxitec to test the modified mosquitoes in the U.S. for the first time, according to a statement from the agency
US EPA OKs release of GM mosquitoes
11600A. Beer, Agrow Agribusiness, 2020-05-06 15:57:35.
he US EPA has granted an experimental use permit to US synthetic biology company Intrexon’s UK subsidiary, Oxitec, to test its genetically modified OX5034 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Genetically Engineered Male Mosquitos to be Released in Florida and Other Parts of US to Curb Zika and Dengue Spread
11598Staff Reporter, The Science Times, 2020-05-06 15:47:02.
The Environmental Protection Agency has recently approved a new and controversial field test aimed at reducing their population.
Swarms of genetically modified mosquitoes could soon be descending on Florida
11594A. J. Dellinger, Mic, 2020-05-06 15:42:53.
Mosquitoes are a pain in the ass, so much so that the Environmental Protection Agency has approved a new and controversial field test aimed at curbing their population.
Arthropod Containment Guidelines, Version 3.2
34042American Committee of Medical Entomology; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES, Volume 19, Number 3. 2019-06-15 00:00:00.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Probably Headed to Florida Keys to Fight Zika
23519T. Elfrink, Miami New Times, 2016-04-11 05:12:57.
The bad news: Zika is coming to Florida. This past Friday, two new cases of the virus linked to serious birth defects were reported in the state, and scientists believe it could spread rapidly come summer as mosquito populations explode. And we're still a long way away from a vaccine for the virus. The good news: Scientists still might have a way to stop its spread — by releasing a swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes across the Florida Keys. Yes, it sounds like the premise of pulpy Michael Crichton novel that ends with a zombie horde infected with GMO mosquito viruses. But it's looking ever more likely to happen. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given tentative approval to the plan, and the New York Times published a lengthy op-ed this weekend arguing in favor of the plan. And several new polls show that most of the public supports giving it a sho
Wolbachia and cytoplasmic incompatibility in mosquitoes
4300Sinkins, SP, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 34:723-729. 2004-01-18 00:00:00.
Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that induce cytoplasmic incompatibility in mosquitoes, and are able to use these patterns of sterility to spread themselves through populations. For this reason they have been proposed as a gene drive system for mosquito genetic replacement, as well as for the reduction of population size or for modulating population age structure in order to reduce disease transmission. Here, recent progress in the study of mosquito Wolbachia is reviewed. We now have much more comprehensive estimates of the parameters that can affect the spread of Wolbachia through natural populations from low starting frequencies. and for waves of spread to be maintained in the face of partial barriers to gene flow. In Aedes albopictits these dynamics are extremely favourable, with very high maternal transmission fidelity and levels of incompatibility recorded. Correspondence between measurements taken in the lab and field is much better than in the Drosophila simulans model system. Important research goals are also discussed, including Wolbachia transformation, interspecific transfer and the elucidation of the mechanisms of incompatibility and rescue; all will be aided by a wealth of new Wolbachia genome information. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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