The Latest Breaking News from Oxitec

Genetically modified mosquitoes are being released in Brazil to reduce the spread of the viral infection dengue fever.

Scientists say gene-editing technology may eradicate a mosquito in the U.S. that spreads dengue and other diseases. Concerns remain about the possible environmental impact of bioengineered mosquitoes.

Many fear that the altered insects will hybridize with native mosquitos and produce a more aggressive fast-breeding strain.

LOS ANGELES — In the mosquito breeding rooms of British biotech company Oxitec, scientists line up fresh eggs, each the size of a grain of salt. Using microscopic needles, the white-coated researchers inject each egg with a dab of a proprietary synthetic DNA.

The genetically modified insects will be non-biting males engineered to only produce more male offspring

The future isn’t female, at least not for the invasive Aedes aegypti: the altered males are engineered to produce only male offspring