Mark Benedict's blog

Teams testing mosquitoes that are being considered for field release, their advisors, policy makers and donors often talk about ‘large cage trials’, but how large must a cage be for mosquito trials to qualify for that title? Is the proper metric its volume or stimulation of behavioral characteristics for a cage that provides the data we need? Perhaps the real value of large cage testing is neither of these but its independence.

It’s a useful reminder to consider what one must have for successful genetic control strains for mosquitoes. While the focus is often on effectors for specific population manipulations, there are other bits “under the hood” that, like an engine, can’t really be ignored. It’s easy to forget how necessary these are when concentrating on something novel. I’ll give you my bare-bones list of basic genetic control features that sooner or later, you simply must have.

It is said that predictions are very difficult – especially when they concern the future. No doubt Scott O’neil and his Eliminate Dengue team never would have expected to be where they are now 10 years ago. In contrast, those who dreamt of releasing malaria-refractory transgenic mosquitoes two decades ago in the Tucson desert would have been surprised too.

A friend and colleague asked me whether all the media excitement about transgenic mosquitoes represents real accomplishments that beat non-transgenic sterile insect technique (SIT). Good question. In the first of a two-part blog, I’ll tell you where I think things stand, first in SIT. In the second part, I’ll look at population replacement.

I blogged recently that getting the facts out about genetic engineering of mosquitoes would not be enough to persuade those who are hard anti-GM activists that they can be safely developed. I also argued that becoming an activist allowed one to abandon the bothersome constraints of truth. AAAS appears to agree with me, but have they made the right call?