Google is asking regulators for the green light to unleash millions of lab-raised mosquitoes in two US states. Under a proposal now before the Environmental Protection Agency, the tech giant wants permission to release up to 16 million sterile male mosquitoes annually in both California and Florida for a two-year span, as part of its "Debug" disease-control program, reports the Guardian. A public-comment period runs through Friday before the EPA decides whether to grant an experimental-use permit.
The project, now fully owned by Google after being spun out of fellow Alphabet venture Verily, uses a long-standing tactic known as the sterile insect technique. Male mosquitoes, which don't bite or carry disease themselves, are bred with a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia that prevents them from producing viable offspring with wild females, shrinking the population over time. "The population gets smaller with each generation," notes the Debug portal.
"In a nutshell, it's good mosquitoes vs. bad mosquitoes," adds Deutsche Welle. The initial US focus is on Aedes aegypti, the species that spreads dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya, per the Guardian. Google says pesticide spraying is losing effectiveness and carries environmental downsides and points to Singapore, where its Debug releases have been linked to an 80% to 90% drop in Aedes aegypti and a more than 70% reduction in dengue cases within a year.
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