By Murray Sherriffs
The plan is part of the tech giant’s ‘Debug’ program to eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal, speading malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus and other fatal diseases to millions of people annually.
Debug will release male mosquitoes, which don’t bite or carry disease, to mate with Aedes aegypti.
BUT…the ‘good’ skitters carry a naturally occurring bacteria (Wolbachia), which makes them sterile, so when the mating occurs, no eggs will hatch and over time, there will be fewer mosquitoes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency claims ‘Sterile insect technique’ has been in use for about 60 years, is environment-friendly and successful in controlling fruit flies, moths and screwworms.
