Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

[Coast]

Are genetically modified mosquitoes a step too far in man's march to modify the natural World, or could they be a fantastic way to help stem the annual death toll from dengue fever and malaria?

Fears grow over genetically engineered mosquitoes which kill their own offspring

• Scientists carry out 'positive' trial on Cayman Islands
  
• New breed of insect could be used to tackle malaria and dengue fever
  
• But critics say it could lead to public health problems
  

A UK-based scientific team revealed there had been positive signs from the first release into the environment of the mosquitoes, which are engineered to pass a lethal gene onto their offspring, killing them before adulthood. The study team - which includes experts from Imperial College London and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - released batches of modified mosquitoes in an area of the Cayman Islands where the dengue virus-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito is common. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology journal, looked at how successfully the lab-reared, genetically modified insects could mate.

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1cNOAu58b

[knocker]

A malaria vaccine has eluded scientists for decades, but preliminary results from a phase 3 clinical trial in Africa are providing hope.

The data suggest that the vaccine, known as RTS,S, cuts the number of malaria cases in half.

Overall 15,000 children in seven African countries are participating in the trial, which represents the furthest that any malaria vaccine candidate has ever progressed.

The preliminary results, which were announced at a malaria forum hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, covered 6,000 of the participating children, all aged between 5 and 17 months.

The developers, GlaxoSmithKline and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said it showed roughly a 50% reduction in malaria cases in a 12 month period following vaccination.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/health/trial-malaria-vaccine-africa/?hpt=he_c2

[frogesque]

Any chance this could be used on the Highland Midgie! :smilz38:

[knocker]

Afraid not, it's confined to insects.

[Azores Hi]

If (and it’s a big IF) this method becomes widely accepted and successful, expect to see it rolled out to encompass the control of many more insect species. I’ve looked at the research and potentially this is a huge leap forward in pest control, the big sticky point will be getting the wider public to accept it. GM is a dirty word in Europe but the distinct difference with this method is that it is not the food we are eating which is GM but the pest.

[Coast]

GM is a dirty word in Europe but the distinct difference with this method is that it is not the food we are eating which is GM but the pest.

Thanks for covering that AH, I know you have a great deal of experience and knowledge of this particular subject.

[Azores Hi]

Thanks for covering that AH, I know you have a great deal of experience and knowledge of this particular subject.

I don't know about a 'great deal' of knowledge! But yes, certain companies (ahem) are looking at this with a great deal of interest. I'd be interested to see what peoples' reactions are...

More detailed info on the method:

http://www.oxitec.com/our-research/our-technology/

[Snowyowl9]

Humans playing GOD again is it.

[Azores Hi]

Humans playing GOD again is it.

Care to expand on your thoughts?

[Snowyowl9]

Care to expand on your thoughts?

My thoughts on anything GM would have to be edited on this site.

By the way this has already happened earlier this year.

http://www.naturalnews.com/031162_Malaysia_mosquitos.html

[pottyprof]

Would this have any effect on anything that feeds on these GM mosquitoes? I know that companies do research into effects like this but how safe is it?

[Azores Hi]

Would this have any effect on anything that feeds on these GM mosquitoes? I know that companies do research into effects like this but how safe is it?

Aedes aegypti is native in Africa and has spread to most tropical areas through international travel. Therefore it is a non native species in the target areas and local wildlife is not dependant on the presence of this mosquito. Furthernore the genetic material can only be inherited and is not transmitted through ingestion.

[pottyprof]

Aedes aegypti is native in Africa and has spread to most tropical areas through international travel. Therefore it is a non native species in the target areas and local wildlife is not dependant on the presence of this mosquito. Furthernore the genetic material can only be inherited and is not transmitted through ingestion.

Thanks for that. Was a bit tired last night and missed where it said non native. I think in cases like this, we have to give things a whirl if there is full support from scientists to confirm it's safe. I'm not against GM. I'm against the secrecy that surrounds it. It's the same with the AGW crowd. They seem to keep research hidden and then wonder why a majority don't believe a word they say. We need educating as to what is involved, why and how.

[Azores Hi]

Personally I think GM is a new tool for humanity added to a long list of tools we already have through scientific discovery. (fire, electricity, nuclear power etc) Like any new tool the first attempts can be clumsy and even possibly dangerous. Given time we learn to improve our application of these tools and make them safer, more efficient etc. This application of GM technology acknowledges the risks and places safeguards which eliminates them. The mosquito can never produce viable offspring as they have been engineered to be dependant on a dietary supplement unavailable in the natural environment. This is also the factor which gives the control of the pest, mating resulting in unviable offspring.

Having said all that, genes can mutate and species have a tendency to adapt. Do we really know the consequences of mutation/ adaption in an organism we have engineered? Not knowing just what mutatations will occur it’s an impossible question to answer IMO. The real point is, if a mutation occurs in an engineered organism which results in that organism becoming destructive in any way, shape or form, it will be humanity who would be responsible...but what are the chances eh? Especially if you are engineered to die.

We need educating as to what is involved, why and how

Yes we do, GM is such a dirty word in Europe, but the technology is changing, we need to have open minds.

.

[Coast]

we need to have open minds.

and big tashes?

[Azores Hi]

and big tashes?

DOH!

If anyone is wondering, I'm taking part in MOvember...

http://uk.movember.com/

PM me if you wish you donate to this most worthy tashathon.

[Snowyowl9]

Theres much better ways than GM believe me.

http://www.relfe.com/GMOs.html

[Azores Hi]

Theres much better ways than GM believe me.

http://www.relfe.com/GMOs.html

Better ways at doing what exactly?

[Coast]

Looks like they may have found another way to control malaria:

It is hoped the discovery will lead to new treatments or vaccines to combat the malaria scourge which claims a million lives a year. Malaria is spread by the Plasmodium parasite which invades human red blood cells. So far attempts to develop a vaccine that prevents the organism entering cells have proved unsuccessful. A major obstacle has been that the parasite is so adaptable. When entry through a molecular ''receptor'' on the cell wall is blocked, the organism switches to another.

The new research has identified a single red blood cell receptor that appears to be essential for malaria infection. ''Our findings were unexpected and have completely changed the way in which we view the invasion process,'' said study author Dr Gavin Wright, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire. ''Our research seems to have revealed an Achilles' heel in the way the parasite invades our red blood cells. It is rewarding to see how our techniques can be used to answer important biological problems and lay the foundations for new therapies.''

The scientists showed that the parasite has to interact with the receptor in a certain way to gain entry. They also demonstrated that disrupting this interaction completely prevented the parasite invading red blood cells. Crucially, this was true across all parasite strains tested, suggesting that the receptor was a universal entry pathway. The research is published today in the journal Nature. ''By identifying a single receptor that appears to be essential for parasites to invade human red blood cells, we have also identified an obvious and very exciting focus for vaccine development,'' said co-author Dr Julian Rayner, also from the Sanger Institute.

''The hope is that this work will lead towards an effective vaccine based around the parasite protein.'' Vaccinating against malaria will be the most cost-effective and simplest way to protect populations against the disease. However, for such an approach to work at the population scale, the vaccine needs to be highly effective.

Professor Adrian Hill, Wellcome Trust senior investigator at the Jenner Institute, Oxford, said: ''Recent reports of some positive results from ongoing malaria vaccine trials in Africa are encouraging, but in the future more effective vaccines will be needed if malaria is ever to be eradicated. ''The discovery of a single receptor that can be targeted to stop the parasite infecting red blood cells offers the hope of a far more effective solution.''

http://www.telegraph...-cell-path.html

[Aaron]

Daily Mail:

Mutant Mosquitoes to kill humanity