Fears over plan to release GM mosquitoes in Key West

[David Morris]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/328707

A company called Oxitec plans to release 5,000 to 10,000 genetically
modified mosquitoes to fight the native population of mosquitoes in
Key West, Florida. But residents are protesting that the potential
harmful effects of the mosquitoes are uncertain.

The mosquitoes, according to the British company Oxitec, are designed
to produce offspring that die quickly and could help to reduce or even
eliminte the incidence of Dengue fever in the area. The company plans
to release male mosquitoes to breed with wild females. The male
mosquitoes, according to Oxitec, have an altered gene that kills them
and the larvae that results from their mating.