Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida Keys ...

[donnay]

Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against painful viral diseases

By Daily Mail Reporter and Ap Reporter

Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases.

But the move, if it goes ahead, would be unprecedented as modified DNA insects have never been so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood before.

'This is essentially using a mosquito as a drug to cure disease,' said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which is waiting to hear if the Food and Drug Administration will allow the experiment.

Continued...

[Danke]

Florida Keys? Don't know, but the Florida Everglade mosquitoes are vicious.

[CaptUSA]

So, they conducted a test in the Cayman's that reduced the mosquito population by like 96%. As someone who hates mosquitoes, I'm having a hard time coming out against this one.

I know this is screwing with nature and the repercussions are largely unknown, but if it works, it's hard to argue with the amazing potential here.

[presence]

So, they conducted a test in the Cayman's that reduced the mosquito population by like 96%. As someone who hates mosquitoes, I'm having a hard time coming out against this one.

I know this is screwing with nature and the repercussions are largely unknown, but if it works, it's hard to argue with the amazing potential here.

all peachy until the remaining 4% can spread ebola by mosquito bite

[XNavyNuke]

But the move, if it goes ahead, would be unprecedented as modified DNA insects have never been so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood before.

It's not unprecedented at all. "Sterile" insects have been released since the 60's. The difference is that gamma sterilization only offered 90-99% actual sterilization. Chromosomal modifications were completely random in these insects and could be transferred to offspring from fertile parents. The Y chromosome modification is the change that produces infertility in the a Oxitec mosquito. A male mosquito that is fertile means that it is not passing along the modified chromosome.

XNN

[Matt Collins]

What could possibly go wrong with this?




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...in_Yellowstone

[TheTexan]

It's not unprecedented at all. "Sterile" insects ...

[TheCount]

It's not unprecedented at all. "Sterile" insects have been released since the 60's. The difference is that gamma sterilization only offered 90-99% actual sterilization. Chromosomal modifications were completely random in these insects and could be transferred to offspring from fertile parents. The Y chromosome modification is the change that produces infertility in the a Oxitec mosquito. A male mosquito that is fertile means that it is not passing along the modified chromosome.

XNN

I refuse to be bitten by anything other than organic, free-range, swamp-raised mosquitos.

You can really tell the difference in the quality of the itch.

[Weston White]

I refuse to be bitten by anything other than organic, free-range, swamp-raised mosquitos.

You can really tell the difference in the quality of the itch.

Yup, just ask BMGF:

India Holds Bill Gates Accountable For His Vaccine Crimes (VacTruth, Oct 5, 2014):

The petitioners submitting the petition stated:

“BMGF, PATH and WHO were criminally negligent trialling the vaccines on a vulnerable, uneducated and under-informed population school administrators, students and their parents who were not provided informed consent or advised of potential adverse effects or required to be monitored post-vaccination.”

[tangent4ronpaul]

I refuse to be bitten by anything other than organic, free-range, swamp-raised mosquitos.

You can really tell the difference in the quality of the itch.

lol!

+rep

What could possibly go wrong?







There are some others out there about genetically modified insects, not sure if mosquitos though...

-t

[Acala]

If we can eliminate mosquitos with genetic engineeering, I'm for it.

[CaptUSA]

If we can eliminate mosquitos with genetic engineeering, I'm for it.

Imagine being able to say to your grandchildren, "I remember when we still had mosquitoes. They were little flying bugs that bit us, made us itch like a bitch, screwed up our camping trips and sometimes gave us diseases! You kids don't know how good you got it!"

[specsaregood]

..

[Acala]

It isn't just humans that are tormented by mosquitos. They attack any mammal they can catch. Imagine not even having hands to swat them with? Let's do it for suffering mammals everywhere! I've HAD it with those little $#@!s! Good bye and good riddance. Sure, some bats and dragonflies survive by eating them. I guess they should have done a better job. Now they will have to find something else to eat.

[TheCount]

If we can eliminate mosquitos with genetic engineeering, I'm for it.

I do have some mild concerns about the impact on the food chain, but if there is any negative effect, re-introducing mosquitos would be hilariously simple to do.

[phill4paul]

Well, it will make these DNA samplers easier to spot....

[tod evans]

I've gotta wonder if DDT is worse than GMO bugs.........

[donnay]

http://rt.com/usa/226203-florida-mos...s-gmo-insects/


Flashback:

Fooling Mother Nature with Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

By Jody Smith-Williams

It's usually exciting when national headlines take notice of the Florida Keys.

Sushi's New Year's Eve shoe drop on CNN, for example -- Cool!

Genetically modified mosquitoes coming soon to a backyard near you, as reported in the New York Times? Not so much.

In 2009, genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands by the private British firm Oxitec. It was the first time in history that genetically modified insects that can bite humans were released and it happened largely in secret, in a country with no bio-safety laws or regulations. Now Oxitec is planning to initiate the release of the GM mosquitoes in the Florida Keys as early as this spring.

These "suicide" mosquitoes have a gene that causes them to die and this gene is passed on to their offspring who are supposed to die before they reach adulthood. Over time, the mosquito population will decline and with it, the transmission of dengue fever -- or so the theory goes. However, there are many concerns with this theory, not the least of which regards the very nature of genetic modification itself in trying to outsmart Mother Nature. We simply do not know what the unintended consequences of messing around with an organism's DNA will be.

Nobody likes mosquitoes and certainly dengue fever is a concern, but what will happen to the local ecosystem when the mosquito population decreases or is eliminated entirely?

The problem with calling genetically engineered organisms "safe" is that there are no independent risk-assessments being done on them. The only research being done on the health or environmental effects of genetically engineered organisms is being done by the corporations developing and promoting the use of genetically modified organisms -- and their research is held in secret as "proprietary."

In the case of GM mosquitoes, some of Oxitec's own research findings were actually made known just weeks ago. Through a British Freedom of Information request, a confidential internal document showed major flaws in the technology of suicide mosquitoes and also calls into question their effectiveness.

According to GeneWatch U.K., the organization that uncovered the internal document, "the GM mosquitoes described as 'sterile' are, in fact, not sterile and their offspring have a 15 percent survival rate in the presence of the common antibiotic tetracycline. In the study, the mosquitoes were fed cat food containing chicken contaminated with low levels of tetracycline and many of them were able to reproduce, with their offspring surviving to adulthood."

Oxitec actually uses tetracycline as a chemical switch to allow it to breed its GM insects in the lab. Yet by redacting the document, it tried to hide the evidence about the 15 percent survival rate on the grounds of "commercial confidentiality."

The company claims that in the wild there's no risk of any random exposure to tetracycline.

Continued...

[Weston White]

(And is it just me, or does the name Oxitec sound ominously like a scrambled version of "Corexit," the BP-produced "remediation" chemical for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that appears to have been more harmful to wildlife and ecosystems than the spill itself?)

So this!