馬來西亞放出6,000隻轉基因蚊子到野外

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馬來西亞放出6,000隻轉基因蚊子到野外
Malaysia unleashes 6,000 genetically-modified mosquitoes into wild
Monday, January 31, 2011
by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Translation by Autumnson Blog

(NaturalNews) Malaysian officials recently set loose thousands of "Frankenbugs" into the forests of Asia, purportedly to help curb the spread of dengue fever. Scientists programmed the 6,000 genetically-modified (GM) Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes in such a way that when they breed with females, the offspring will die early and thus reduce their overall population.
（NaturalNews）馬來西亞官員最近鬆綁數千的“科學怪蟲”進入亞洲的森林，據悉是為幫助遏制登革熱的傳播。科學家編程的6,000隻轉基因（GM）埃及伊蚊的雄蚊，以這樣一種方式當它們與雌性繁殖時，它們的後代就會早死，從而減低它們的整體人口。
Only Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes are able to spread dengue fever, according to reports, so officials saw no problem with allowing the modified males to be released in an attempt to help reduce the mosquitoes' overall population. But Malaysian environmentalist groups and others expressed concern about the long-term effects of releasing such creatures into the wild.
只有埃及伊蚊的雌蚊能傳播登革熱，據報導，因此官員看不見有問題去允許轉基因後的雄性被釋放，以圖幫助減少蚊子的總人口。但馬來西亞的環保團體及其他人，表達關注這些生物被釋放到野外的長期影響。
Back in November, it was revealed that British scientists working for biotechnology giant Oxitec released millions of non-reproducing GM mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands as an experiment as well. The alleged goal of the endeavor was also to see if dengue fever could be wiped out by the introduction of GM mosquitoes (http://www.naturalnews.com/030449_m...).

But simply wiping out an entire species may cause more harm than good, say opponents. If the offending mosquitoes are completely eliminated, they may simply be replaced in the ecosystem with another harmful species. And since little is know about the chain-reaction of events that may occur as a result, the project is really nothing more than a giant, untested experiment that cannot be reversed.

Unbeknownst to most people, mosquitoes are actually very important pollinators. They are also a food source for other species like birds and bats, some of which also play a vital role in agriculture. In other words, without mosquitoes, the food chain as we know it would cease to exist.

Sources for this story include:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...

http://www.naturalnews.com/031162_Malaysia_mosquitos.html

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