California plans to release 2 million genetically engineered mosquitoes to eradicate mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus.
The Times reported on the 16th that the state of California had plans to release 2 million male mosquitoes with fatal DNA defects. When male mosquitoes mate with invasive female mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus, they produce mosquito larvae, which will not mature and die.
The genetically engineered dengue mosquito was developed by British biotech company OxyTech and is not known to bite people or spread contagious diseases because they are all male.
Unlike common mosquitoes, which are usually active at night, the virus-carrying alien mosquitoes are mainly active during the day and particularly like human blood. OxyTech is currently awaiting approval from the state of California.
Last year, Oxytech successfully completed an experiment to release genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Keith area of southern Florida, the United States. At the time, 144,000 genetically engineered mosquitoes hatched in three months.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have recently attracted attention as an alternative to insecticides. This is because pesticides adversely affect beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies, and mosquitoes are evolving to become resistant to pesticides. As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency has approved a project to release a total of 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes.
However, there are those who oppose the use of genetically engineered mosquitoes. In an interview with the local media, the representative of ‘Californias for Relief from Insecticide Damage’ expressed concern, saying, “It is like a laboratory mouse.
YTN PLUS Jeong Yun-ju ([email protected])
[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]