3 years ago

192

It's already been approved by the EPA. Public commenting is no longer available. Were you adequately notified about this?
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/genetically-modified-mosquito-test-california-epa-oxitec

EPA Approves 2 more experimental years: https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0274-0470

Gates (the main funder/supporter of Oxitec) needs to stop playing God. This is going to take all of us to stand up to this. https://www.labiotech.eu/trends-news/gates-foundation-oxitec-malaria-mosquito/

"The release strain, OX513A, was derived from a laboratory strain originally from Cuba, then outcrossed to a Mexican population7. The three populations forming the tri-hybrid population now in Jacobina (Cuba/Mexico/Brazil) are genetically quite distinct (Extended Data Fig. E2), very likely resulting in a more robust population than the pre-release population due to hybrid vigor.
These results demonstrate the importance of having in place a genetic monitoring program during releases of transgenic organisms to detect un-anticipated consequences." *oops!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49660-6

"In Brazil, the wild mosquitoes mated with the gene-hacked population and created a new sort of genetic hybrid that’s more robust than the wild bugs were. While the new variant isn’t inherently dangerous — or at least not additionally so — the scientists behind the project say they don’t fully understand how things will change for future generations." https://newatlas.com/science/genetic-engineering-mosquito-experiment-goes-wrong/

"Worse still, the genetic experiment may have had the opposite effect and made mosquitoes even more resilient. The bugs in the area are now made up of three strains mixed together: the original Brazilian locals, plus strains from Cuba and Mexico – the two strains crossed to make the GM insects. This wider gene pool could make the mozzies more robust as a whole."
https://futurism.com/the-byte/gene-hack-mosquitoes-backfiring

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