Tag: genetically modified mosquito
MRCU boss denies dead bees linked to spraying
(CNS): Mosquito Research and Control Unit Director Dr Jim McNelly told Finance Committee on Tuesday that the MRCU has no evidence to link its work with anecdotal claims of dead bees. McNelly has not yet responded to enquiries by CNS, following reports by concerned readers last week that several people saw a significant number of […]
GM mozzies pass on altered gene
(CNS): The genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes developed by Oxitec may have impacted the actual genetics of the natural mosquito populations where these bio engineered bugs were released, scientists have found. Following a release in Brazil, similar to the one in the Cayman Islands, researchers who monitored the release said that up to 30 months after the […]
Oxitec packs up but evaluation not complete
(CNS): The controversial research project which saw genetically modified sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes released into an area of West Bay in a collaboration between the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) and the bio-technology company Oxitec has come to a formal end. However, details of what happened, what went right or wrong, why the government went […]
Minister claims GM mosquitoes didn’t work
(CNS): The environmental health minister, who has responsibility for the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU). has said the release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in West Bay did not work and has confirmed that when the Oxitec contract formally ends on 31 December, that will be “the last you hear about Oxitec being […]
MRCU to stop releasing GM mosquitoes
(CNS): The Mosquito Research and Control Unit has admitted that it has stopped the release of Oxitec’s genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Grand Cayman, claiming that it is moving into a monitoring phase just a few months after it entered a deal with the bio-engineering firm in May.
MRCU signs new $600k deal with Oxitec
(CNS): Despite recent revelations that the pilot project using genetically modified male mosquitoes to reduce the Aedes aegypti population fell far short of expectations, the government has signed a new deal with biotechnology company, Oxitec, to continue releasing them. The contract is costing the public purse around CI$588,000 and appears to be not much more than a […]
Cover-up over GM mozzie project denied
(CNS): Officials have said emails sent by Nancy Barnard while she was acting director of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit have been distorted and that she was not trying to cover anything up about the controversial genetically modified mosquito pilot. Barnard, who was corresponding with scientists about the results of the MRCU and Oxitec project […]
GM mozzie trial in WB may have failed
(CNS): Documents and correspondence released to GeneWatch, a UK-based NGO, under a freedom of information request appear to show that there is no evidence that the controversial release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in West Bay by Oxitec in co-ordination with the Cayman Islands Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) made any impact on the […]
Success of GM mozzie project queried by MRCU
(CNS): Government has cancelled a planned national roll-out of the controversial genetically modified mosquito project by the UK-based firm Oxitec. Nancy Barnard, the acting director of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, told CNS that the decision not to expand the experimental method for suppressing the Aedes aegypti was due to budget cuts. However, it appears […]
GM antibiotic-dependent mosquitoes
Dr John W Norris writes: Are we pouring gasoline on one public health crisis hoping to treat another? Voters said no in Key Haven, Florida, to a trial release of genetically modified antibiotic-dependent mosquitoes in 2016. The analysis of FDA public comment by Bloss et al was a start to look at why. One significant […]
Oxitec bio-bugs ‘ineffective and risky’, claim activists
(CNS): The UK-based anti-GM charity and research group, GeneWatch UK, has taken aim at the project in which millions of bio-engineered mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands. In the wake of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit’s first annual report on the progress of the project, the activists called into question the efficiency, effectiveness […]
