They Need to Try This in Wisconsin

Scientists Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Tackle Dengue Fever.

The AP (11/11, Cheng) reported, "Scientists have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said Thursday." Notably, "it is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations." 

Meanwhile, "British scientists today said a small-scale trial of the strategy, which was carried out in the Cayman Islands, had cut mosquito numbers by 80% in six months," reports the UK's Guardian (11/12, Sample). Scientists "at the Oxford-based firm Oxitec modified male mosquitoes to carry a gene that means they can only survive if they get regular feeds of an antibiotic called tetracycline. ... When the mosquitoes are released into the wild, they mate with females but produce offspring that inherit the gene and so die almost immediately."   They need to try this in Wisconsin!