WITH NEW warnings of an epidemic by the WHO, panic over the mosquito-borne virus, Zika, is beginning to rise exponentially. And while, for most of the population, Zika is nothing to worry about, the increased attention means that finding a solution once and for all has become a bigger priority.
A company called Oxitec, who bill themselves as, “a pioneer in controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops,” has begun work on genetically modifying mosquitos of the Aedes aegypti species, hoping that by introducing new genetics that prevent new births into the environmental pool, they can control the spread of the the virus through reduced reproduction.
