KEYS BUGGED BY RELEASE OF MILLIONS OF MOSQUITOES

Florida residents are furious that scientists are preparing to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes. The experiment, by British biotech firm Oxitect, will see 750 million males let out in the Florida Keys over the next two years to control the invasive, disease-carrying species in the area. But many citizens are unhappy at being part of what one called “a Jurassic Park experiment.” The first wave will see thousands of mosquitoes released at six locations this week. The project is to combat the aedes aegypti, which makes up four per cent of mosquitoes in the Keys but is responsible for virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans. Oxitect has modified the genes of males so that they carry a protein that will kill off female offspring before they reach mature biting age.