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GENET-news articles on GE mosquitoes

compilation of all relevant GENET-news articles

GE mosquitoes in Malaysia

click here to read news on GE mosquitoes from Malaysia only

GE mosquitoes on the Cayman Islands

click to read news on GE mosqitoes from the Cayman Islands only

2013-02-13 |

Mutant mosquitoes: British expert to talk genetically engineered bloodsuckers in Bay City

In Hollywood movies, stories such as these typically don’t go well for humans. But, in real life, a genetically altered species of mosquito could be the key to curbing out-of-control populations of the warm weather-loving bloodsuckers, some experts say. One of those experts, Derric Nimmo, is the scheduled speaker at the Michigan Mosquito Control Association 27th Annual Conference keynote address [...] Nimmo is the spokesperson of Oxitec, Ltd., a British-based biotech company specializing in insect control.

2013-01-28 |

U.S. FDA panel to look at GM mosquitoes to be released in Florida

Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Director Michael Doyle says an expert panel convenes next month in the nation’s capital to discuss the proposed release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Old Town Key West, which he said is “encouraging” for the proposal. Doyle said during the district’s monthly meeting Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration appointed him to the panel, which is scheduled to meet Feb. 19 in Washington, D.C. He didn’t have the names of other members and what the specific charge of the panel is. But he did say “they are taking definite steps to evaluate the potential benefits and risks of the technology, and using known experts from other agencies.”

2013-01-08 |

Indian Vector Control Research Centre: We are not ready for GM mosquitoes

With dengue and malaria wrecking havoc in the country this year, genetically modified mosquitoes seemed like a good option to get rid of the twin diseases. But field testing of the GM mosquitoes is still a long way off. [...] Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Meet of Biologists, Dr P. Jambulingam, director, Vector Control Research Centre, said, “There are many issues. Conducting laboratory tests is one thing and field testing another. There is no guarantee about the competence of GM mosquitoes.” He added, “Social acceptance is another issue. There is no proof that these mosquitoes will not cause any side-effects. There are doubts if people will embrace the technology.”

2012-12-17 |

GM mosquitoes could be used versus dengue in Florida (USA)

Mosquito control officials in the Florida Keys are waiting for the federal government to sign off on an experiment that would release hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce the risk of dengue fever in the tourist town of Key West. [...] The trial planned by mosquito control officials and the British company Oxitec would release non-biting male mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to pass along a birth defect that kill their progeny before reaching maturity. The idea is that they will mate with wild females and their children will die before reproducing. After a few generations, Key West’s Aedes aegypti population would die off, reducing the dengue fever risk without using pesticides and at relatively a low cost, the proponents say. There is no vaccine for dengue fever.

2012-11-20 |

Mosquito-borne diseases: time to change minds on GM

Through genetic engineering a gene can be inserted into a strain of mosquitoes that prevents the survival of the next generation – and with Europe seeing an invasion of new disease-carrying insects, it is time to have a more refined debate on GM, says Oxitec chief executive. Over the past few years Europe has witnessed the start of an invasion of new disease-carrying mosquitoes. It is often argued that a gradually warming climate creates a suitable environment for these mosquitoes to infest parts of Europe that hitherto would not support them. Certainly a changing climate may be one of the factors that is leading to the establishment of these vectors but while the reasons for the increase are being researched and understood, perhaps the more important question is: how do we control them?

2012-11-07 |

In Brazil, Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes to wipe out dengue fever

Under normal circumstances, Cicera Maria da Silva would be less than excited about a researcher intentionally releasing thousands of mosquitoes just outside her husband’s corner grocery store. Mosquitoes here are not just a ubiquitous annoyance; they spread deadly diseases, including dengue fever, which struck Da Silva’s mother a year ago. But that’s why she’s OK with the truck that passes through this poor corner of Brazil a few times a week and pours so many of the winged creatures into the hot streets. These genetically engineered members of the species Aedes aegypti have been created in a lab, and are aimed at wiping out their brethren. “What my mom went through when she got dengue was really, really bad,” Da Silva says. “Anything that can be done to fight that is worth trying.”

2012-11-07 |

Regulatory decisions on releasing GM insects biased by corporate interests

A briefing published today by public interest groups highlights how regulatory decisions on GM insects in Europe and around the world are being biased by corporate interests. The briefing shows how UK biotech company Oxitec has infiltrated decision-making processes around the world. The company has close links to the multinational pesticide and seed company, Syngenta. Oxitec has already made large-scale open releases of GM mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia and Brazil and is developing GM agricultural pests, jointly with Syngenta. Plans to commercialise GM insects would result in many millions of GM insects being released in fields of crops, including olives, tomatoes, citrus fruits, cabbages and cotton. In future, any insect species might be genetically modified.

2012-10-18 |

Embracing the promise of GMOs - Fighting GM food labelling

“Arctic Apples,” which do not turn an unappetizing brown color after they are sliced, are another recent invention. Scientists are even devising crops to deal with global challenges such as climate change. For example, researchers are developing drought-resistant corn, and other scientists have proposed engineering plants to become more proficient at sequestering the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Still other groups are working on malaria-resistant mosquitoes, bacteria that produce biofuel and plants that synthesize edible vaccines. [...] The world must embrace GMOs. It is not only pro-science. It is pro-humanity.

2012-10-16 |

U.S. FDA agrees to oversee GE mosquito field trials

A British firm pitching the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Key West to lower their numbers apparently has found a federal agency willing to oversee the project. Though a potential release date could be years away, the head of public health research for Oxitec Ltd. in Abindon, England, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to work with the company to possibly one day permit the company to conduct trials in the U.S. “We initially went through the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] from 2008 to 2011, but they came back with a letter of no jurisdiction, which meant they didn’t think they were the agency to approve the trial,” Derric Nimmo said.

2012-10-09 |

GeneWatch worried over release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil

Organisation tracking global genetic technology fears the hybrid flies let out in Brazil to reduce the spread of dengue fever could turn on humans. Genetically modified mosquitoes let loose in some parts of the world to combat dengue fever (common in India) have raised both concern and excitement at the ongoing global conference on biodiversity here. As delegates hotly debate the topic of living modified organisms, GeneWatch UK, a not-for-profit group monitoring developments in genetic technologies globally, is worried over the reported open releases of UK biotech company Oxitec's genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil to reduce transmission of dengue fever.

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