Love to help people escape mosquitoes?

A British research team has released the "dark princes" they mosquitoes, responsible for causing mates to die after mating.

This is the work of the British scientists team named Oxitec. The genetically modified male mosquitoes they named "friendly mosquitoes" (friendly mosquito). However, they are only friendly to humans. For the same type, this male mosquito group carries a killer task.

Picture 1 of Love to help people escape mosquitoes?
Male "killer" males will cause death to their children after "love" - ​​(artwork from the internet)

These mosquitoes are genetically modified by humans so they carry a mutation called "self-limiting gene". This gene causes the death of female "teenage" mosquitoes, causing them to die immediately after mating with human-born death mosquitoes, before reaching the fertility age.

This death gene only kills female mosquitoes, so the mosquitoes chasing the gene will continue to wander and have more new partners, spreading death.

This is the second generation of "friendly mosquitoes" , more mature than the previous generation and is ready to be launched to South America to prevent the spread of dengue and Zika.

The main goal of creating genetically modified mosquitoes through biotechnology is still malaria, which is more dangerous if it is acquired. It is estimated that about 830,000 people die from this disease every year, concentrated in Africa and South America.

The figure makes mosquitoes the most deadly animal, according to statistics from the Institute of Medical Metrology and Evaluation, of the World Health Organization (WHO). The deadliest animal ranked second is . people (580,000 cases / year), then solid (60,000 cases / year).

The second generation "friendly mosquitoes" wide-scale trials will be implemented in 2020.

The project earned a contribution of up to $ 4 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, led by technology billionaire Bill Gates.