British bug-engineering company is working again. According to a new LA Times story, the company is planning to release millions more of its controversial gene-hacked mosquitoes in an effort to reduce the population of the nasty bloodsuckers.
The new bug is made from mosquitoes captured in Mexico. When males mate with females in the wild, a special gene will kill future generations of female mosquitoes, effectively curtailing the insect's ability to reproduce. The fear of being bitten by a modified bug is gone because the company said only female mosquitoes bite.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is capable of causing serious diseases in humans.
Not everyone is on board with the plan. According to the LA Times, the population in a Brazilian neighborhood has been reduced by 95 percent, but has not released any data from the experiment.
The Keys project was protested by some residents who said they were pressured to sign paperwork without knowing the implications.
One resident told Futurism at a town hall last year that they were being subjected to terrorism by their own.
It is not clear if California residents have been more aware of their flying neighbors.
Unintended consequences can have cascading effects, so it's important to be cautious when tinkering with the biosphere. Has anyone seen the movie?
The startup is about to start selling lab-grown tiger steaks to restaurants.
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