A batch of GM mosquitoes released in Brazil earlier in 2015 completely decimated the local mosquito population, and may be responsible for the current outbreak of the deadly Zika virus spreading the globe. According to a reddit user, mankind’s arrogance may have well and truly backfired on us: Here is Oxitec back in 2015 proudly announcing that their GM mosquito has decimated the local mosquito population in a field trial: Releases of the genetically engineered Oxitec mosquito, commonly known as ‘Friendly Aedes aegypti’, reduced the dengue mosquito population in an area of Juazeiro, Brazil by 95%, well below the modelled threshold for epidemic disease transmission. Here is a map showing where Juazeiro is located: Here is a map showing where all the deformed babies are being born: Zika was first confirmed in Brazil in may of 2015, but had been seen in other nations before. Question: Why didn’t it cause an epidemic of birth defects in any other countries? How exactly would you miss a tenfold increase in children born with most of their brain missing? Zika in Brazil does not seem to behave like the Zika we were familiar with before. How could the Zika catastrophe be linked to [...]