Combating the Critter: Have Researchers Found A Weakness in Mosquitoes?

Wouldn’t it be great if we could discover a weakness in mosquitoes? These life threatening pests often feel as though they are invincible, forever causing concern with the spread of deadly diseases and breeding wherever they feel like it, whenever they feel like it! Well…it just so happens that researchers may have come across something that could be a promising way to combat these little critters. Here’s the article with more information.

Researchers find a promising way to outwit mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are brilliant at two things – bringing misery to humans and quickly spoiling all efforts to shut them down. But researchers at UC Riverside have found a weakness in the very genes that make mosquitoes so good at adapting to the insecticides humans use to keep them at bay.

By the sounds of the research it appears to be genetic modification related and as the article refers, there are still many hurdles to overcome with this method of mosquito prevention.

This video is a great visual to explain how it all works and that scientists have considered what could happen in the event of things ‘getting out of hand’ or not going according to plan, which many people are of course, concerned by.

Oxitec CEO: This is the worst-case scenario for unleashing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild

Public-health officials are doing everything in their power (and budget) to prevent infectious diseases like Zika, yellow fever, and dengue from spreading. But the bugs that transmit those diseases, specifically the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, aren’t entirely easy to control. So as an alternative to insecticides or other mosquito-killing tactics, a company called Oxitec has genetically engineered mosquitoes that aim to cut down on the natural mosquito population.

If the worst case scenario is that it simply ‘doesn’t work’ then it may be worth a shot at getting these killer pest under control for good.