Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
If a disease has no cure, why not just stop it from being transmitted in the first place?
FIFA's is kicking off in Brazil and their government has implemented a few changes to
accommodate for the fans coming to the country. One of these changes involves releasing
genetically modified mosquitoes, used as live insecticides, to combat Dengue Fever. It's
also known as break-bone fever for its crippling joint paint and severe flu-like symptoms
and it devastates 1.4 million annually in Brazil. However, it doesn't stop there as
it can
also become fatal by and bring the host into a shock, coma and ultimately death. The
numerous outbreaks in Brazil have made it an endemic there. There is no cure or vaccine.
Now
this species, known as Aedes Aegypti, is the major carrier of Dengue Fever. Traditional
methods to control the mosquitoes have been attempted; however, the mosquitoes are beginning
to gain resistance to common insecticides. Additional concerns that arise with insecticides
include its destructive nature on all the organisms in range including vegetation and
other
important elements of the ecosystem. To make matters worse, this particular species bite
during the day as well so mosquito nets don't work, making them a very difficult pest to
deal with.
The British company Oxitec is currently implementing a radical solution to this desperate
situation. They have inserted a self-destructive gene into the mosquitoes through genetic
engineering. These mosquitos are kept alive in a laboratory with an antibiotic called
Tetracycline. The male mosquitoes are filtered out, the ones that don't bite, and when are
released into the wild they pass on this killing gene to their offspring when they mate. The
offspring then die before they reach adulthood. They also gain a visible marker that can be
seen using a special light to allow the researchers to monitor the program's success. This
technology has proven its effectiveness reducing this mosquito species population by 90% in
the small city of Jacinoba. But with this new advent, a few questions are being asked.
How is this going to affect the ecosystem? Some of the scientists have addressed this
concern by saying that this particular species of insect are not really a part of the
ecosystem and are feeding off the artificial human environment there.
What if another mosquito takes its place, such as the Asian tiger mosquito that also
inhabits that area? Like the previous question, this really brings to light the lack of
research done on the long-term effects of this program, and some even advocate for the
security of pesticides over the uncertainty of this new technology.
People are also concerned about the notion of a British company claiming to solve a problem
in a developing country without being fully transparent of the risks. Its for-profit nature
raises many red flags for some. However, there is virtually no protest against it as the
population of Brazil is desperate for a solution. The information is not fully withheld
however as there are trucks driving around with Transgenic on them and there are meetings
held by these companies to educate the locals.
Now a crucial question being asked is will the population reduction actually stop dengue
fever as people transmit it and even a small population of mosquitoes can continue to do
that? However, no one knows exactly what percentage of mosquitos need to be killed to stop
the transmission. But, the company is saying that its 90% elimination on the test sites
seems very prospective. They do explain that it's not a cure-all and works well specifically
in eliminating these pests in smaller regions. This potential risk is something that people
are asking about and the effects on the
mosquitoes, the organisms that eat them, and if we'll be able to do anything if something
goes wrong. However, the country has taken the decision to go through with it regardless
of
the risks because it's the lesser of two evils in comparison to the highly harmful and
ineffective pesticides.
So how exactly does it work? First, scientists find the trait they want to change from the
other plant or animal, grab those genes using restricting enzymes to separate specific parts
of the genes, and then insert them into the organism using either "gene guns" that shoot
a
metal-coated piece of DNA into the embryo or injecting the DNA into a bacterium and
injecting that into the embryo that changes the DNA of the cells in the organism.
Now the idea of genetically modified organisms isn't entirely new. Genetically Modified Food
makes up 90% of common crops eaten in North America such as Corn, Soybean and Canola.
However, alongside this new technology come potential risks as there isn't enough conclusive
research done, and that's something people are very concerned about and has led the majority
of countries except America and Canada to make labeling mandatory, or ban them outright.
These risks include the long-term effects on human health. However, it is a very complex
process and so currently the seeds sold by Monsanto, the largest GMO seed provider in
the
world, are for the most part pesticide and herbicide resistant, allowing stronger chemicals
to be used to stop unwanted pests and plants from affecting the yields. The chemical they
sell alongside their modified seeds is Roundup. This chemical has gotten a lot of criticism
for increasing soil toxicity, having negative health impacts in humans and wreaking havoc
on
ecosystems as it can contaminate water supplies. Monsanto definitely has had their share of
lawsuits in the past , and the technology isn't close to perfect, but GMO's have the
promise
to help with food shortages in developing nations. They are working to create plants
that
have increased nutritional value, better yields and increased nitrogen uptake which might
just be better than selling more chemicals.
So, here's the question of the week: Is it ethical to genetically modify organisms? Tell
us
what you think in the comments below! And if you liked what you saw and want to see
more hit
that like button and subscribe for more green awesomeness.