First genetically modified mosquitoes released in the United States

Waltz, Emily

3 min read Original article ↗
  • NEWS

Biotech firm Oxitec launches controversial field test of its insects in Florida after years of push-back from residents and regulatory complications.

By

  1. Emily Waltz

After a decade of fighting for regulatory approval and public acceptance, a biotechnology firm has released genetically engineered mosquitoes into the open air in the United States for the first time. The experiment, launched this week in the Florida Keys — over the objections of some local critics — tests a method for suppressing populations of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

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Nature 593, 175-176 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01186-6

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