Breakthrough drone-powered mosquitos: “absolutely no impact” on other species
A technological breakthrough, whereby radiation-treated mosquitos are released by drone to limit the spread of diseases such as malaria and Zika, will not have any damaging effect on other wildlife.
That’s the verdict of a senior UN scientist who’s part of a team which has been using radiation to sterilize male mosquitos which are then released to limit breeding.
Jeremy Bouyer is an insect specialist at the joint Division of Nuclear Techniques which is part of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
They’ve just completed a successful test dropping mosquitos by drone in Brazil, along with the Swiss-American NGO, WeRobotics, and Mr Bouyer spoke to Matt Wells about what they found, and what it means for the future.
A technological breakthrough, whereby radiation-treated mosquitos are released by drone to limit the spread of diseases such as malaria and Zika, will not have any damaging effect on other wildlife.
That’s the verdict of senior UN scientist who is part of a team which has been using radiation to sterilize male mosquitos which are then released to limit breeding.
Jeremy Bouyer is an insect specialist at the joint Division of Nuclear Techniques - part of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – and he spoke to Matt Wells following recent tests in Brazil.