The journal Nature Bioetchnology is generating a news ripple. A company that Oxford University researcher foundedhas field tested male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have been given a few deranged genes. They mate and impregnated females lay fertile eggs – but the offspring die before reaching adulthood. The article concerns only a field test two years ago, but a few news accounts note that, in a meeting last year, reps of the company, Oxitech (Oxford Insect Technlogies), triggered a near collapse of the mosquito’s population.

To get a full rundown on how it works read the BBC’s account by Richard Black. Most important, it sketched enough of the workings of the genes involved to give readers a sense of the method’s power. And while Black mentions that genetically engineered organisms intended for use in the wild are subject to regulation, he does not explore how this particular method might do harm.

   Compare that to a tabloid version of this news, at the UK’s Daily Mail. There Simon Tomlinson has it under the hed Fears grow over genetically engineered mosquitoes which kill their own offspring. Perhaps they will grow – after readers swallow this account’s assertions. The lede particularly promises meat behind the hed, it’s first words being “Serious concerns have been raised..” But jeez marie and Elvis is still dead, this piece just peters out. I can not find a single serious concern that ought to raise fear. One that parades as such is that the method may not work. That’s not a reason for fear, unless one is talking about fear of wasting money. Another is that a few female mosquitoes may get accidentally mixed in with the gene-frazzled males, raising slightly the number of vectors out there that might pick up the virus and pass it on to people (only females mosquitoes bite). That’s pretty marginal. Gad.

Other stories:

• NY Times – Andrew Pollack: Concerns Are Raised About Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes ; First, while this runs on line under the Science section’s collection, on paper it is in the Business section. Dunno why that is. It’s not much a biz story. Pollack explains one ‘concern’ this way: once genetically modified insects are released, they cannot be recalled.” Since these are almost all males that will leave females having few or zero viable hatchlings, one wonders why anybody should care. There may be reason to do so, in the abstract, but nothing specifically is offered to say why. Another concern is that the public won’t accept genetically altered pests. Some people may be creeped out by some manmade freak buzzing their ears at night, but whether that is rational is unaddressed. Another concern is that the primary company behind the tests has a track record of rushing field tests in remote areas before passing muser with enough regulatory agencies. That is a problem – but whether these insects pose plausible threat is not explained either. This story, while not overtly sensationalized, is clearly what got the Daily Mail hot and bothered.
• Scientific American – Michael Moyer: Genetically Modified Mosquitos Mate with the Locals; A blog shorty, but it provides succinct, believable reason this news may disconcert rational people. The company has done the work largely in secret. Ergo, it’s not this particular research instance that triggers targeted worry, but the lack of regulatory oversight that could lead to big problems in the general arena of genetic engineering.
• Business Week/ Bloomberg – Reg Gale:Mosquito Bred to Fight Dengue Fever Shows Promise in Study ;
• Medical News Today – Catherine Paddock: Sterile Mosquito Bred To Fight Dengue Fever Shows Promise in Field Trial ; A serious if flat account. It lays out a few potential problems for the method, ones that regulators should think about, but does not suggest they are clear or immediate threats to the public. One for instance is speculation that eliminating this mosquito species will open a niche, maybe for something worse. Something to consider for sure. After all, if somehow maybe I figure out how (without animal cruelty of course) to expel raccoons from the yard I’ll get coyotes instead, or pumas. That couldn’t be good for the cat.

Closely Related News and other items that make the new news, old news:

• New Scientist (Sept. 11) Henry Nicholls:  Swarm troopers: Mutant armies waging war in the wild ; A feature, rambunctiously written, on the company’s wider strategies in controlling insect pests and disease vectors.
• AAAS ScienceInsider (Nov. 16, 2010) Martin Enserink: GM Mosquito Trial Strains Ties in Gates-Funded Project ; and (Jan 27, 2011) GM Mosquito Release in Malaysia Surprises Opponents and Scientists – Again;

Grist for the Mill: Univ. of Oxford Press Release ;

- Charlie Petit

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