EPA Approves Release of Bacteria-Carrying Mosquitoes To 20 States

[DEAD7]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of a common bacterium to kill wild mosquitoes that transmit viruses such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika, Nature's news team has learned. On November 3rd, the agency told biotechnology start-up MosquitoMate that it could release the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis into the environment as a tool against the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Lab-reared mosquitoes will deliver the bacterium to wild mosquito populations. The decision -- which the EPA has not formally announced -- allows the company, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky, to release the bacteria-infected mosquitoes in 20 U.S. states and Washington DC.

US government approves 'killer' mosquitoes to fight disease

 

[hashmander]

well at least it's also being released in washington dc.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

i think i heard about this a year or so ago.
aren't they introducing genetically altered, sterile mosquitoes into the environment?

 

[zerozero]

MosquitoMate will rear the Wolbachia-infected A. albopictusmosquitoes in its laboratories, and then sort males from females. Then the laboratory males, which don’t bite, will be released at treatment sites. When these males mate with wild females, which do not carry the same strain of Wolbachia, the resulting fertilized eggs don’t hatch because the paternal chromosomes do not form properly.

Regular male mosquitos gonna be like... "I told her not to fukk with that dude. but she wanted the lab-raised bad boy. Now our species is getting wiped out cause she didn't want a Nice Guy like me."

 

[Russian Bot v.2.1]

lol at "asian tiger mosquito"

last time it was africanized bees

what's next, the african american poisonous pitpull ladybug or the wild mexican fighting praying mantis

 

[Professor Emeritus]

lol at "asian tiger mosquito"

last time it was africanized bees

what's next, the african american poisonous pitpull ladybug or the wild mexican fighting praying mantis

Its from Asia. It has stripes. It hadn't appeared in the rest of the world until the last couple decades when air travel started spreading it everywhere. Now there's already been two outbreaks of Chikungunya fever in Europe due to it (on in Italy and one off of France) and a Dengue outbreak is a real possibility.