Scientists in Italy are performing large-scale releases of genetically modified mosquitoes in a high-security research lab as part of a controversial study examining whether the modified insects can eradicate the spread of infectious diseases like malaria, reports NPR.
Scientists used CRISPR to design a mosquito that passes on a genetic mutation to prevent females from laying eggs. The mutation also gives female mosquitoes mouths that more closely resemble those of males, meaning they cannot bite humans and spread malaria.
"This will really be a breakthrough experiment," Dr. Ruth Mueller, an entomologist who runs the lab, told NPR. "It's a historic moment."
If use of the mosquitoes is proven safe and effective, the plan would be to release them in African villages experiencing malaria outbreaks. However, opponents say releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild could have serious unforeseen effects on the environment.
"This is a technology where we don't know where it's going to end. We need to stop this right where it is," Nnimmo Bassey, director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation in Nigeria, told NPR. "They're trying to use Africa as a big laboratory to test risky technologies."