source: http://jacksonville.com/breaking-news/2015-01-25/story/millions-gmo-insects-could-be-released-florida-keys
Millions of GMO insects could be released in Florida Keys
By Associated Press Sun, Jan 25, 2015 @ 3:57 pm
KEY WEST, Fla. — Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases.Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood.
"This is essentially using a mosquito as a drug to cure disease," said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which is waiting to hear if the Food and Drug Administration will allow the experiment.
Dengue and chikungunya are growing threats in the U.S., but some people are more frightened at the thought of being bitten by a genetically modified organism. More than 130,000 people signed a Change.org petition against the experiment.
Even potential boosters say those responsible must do more to show that benefits outweigh the risks of breeding modified insects that could bite people.
"I think the science is fine, they definitely can kill mosquitoes, but the GMO issue still sticks as something of a thorny issue for the general public," said Phil Lounibos, who studies mosquito control at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
Mosquito controllers say they're running out of options. With climate change and globalization spreading tropical diseases farther from the equator, storm winds, cargo ships and humans carry these viruses to places like Key West, the southernmost U.S. city.
There are no vaccines or cures for dengue, known as "break-bone fever," or chikungunya, so painful it causes contortions. U.S. cases remain rare.
Insecticides are sprayed year-round in the Keys' charming and crowded neighborhoods. But Aedes aegypti, whose biting females spread these diseases, have evolved to resist four of the six insecticides used to kill them.
Enter Oxitec, a British biotech firm that patented a method of breeding Aedes aegypti with fragments of genes from the herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria as well as coral and cabbage. This synthetic DNA is commonly used in laboratory science and is thought to pose no significant risks to other animals, but it kills mosquito larvae.
Oxitec's lab workers manually remove modified females, aiming to release only males, which don't bite for blood like females do. The modified males then mate with wild females whose offspring die, reducing the population.
Oxitec has built a breeding lab in Marathon and hopes to release its mosquitoes in a Key West neighborhood this spring.
FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said no field tests will be allowed until the agency has "thoroughly reviewed all the necessary information."
Company spokeswoman Chris Creese said the test will be similar in size to Oxitec's 2012 experiment in the Cayman Islands, where 3.3 million modified mosquitoes were released over six months, suppressing 96 percent of the targeted bugs. Oxitec says a later test in Brazil also was successful, and both countries now want larger-scale projects.
But critics accused Oxitec of failing to obtain informed consent in the Caymans, saying residents weren't told they could be bitten by a few stray females overlooked in the lab.
Instead, Oxitec said only non-biting males would be released, and that even if humans were somehow bitten, no genetically modified DNA would enter their bloodstream.
Neither claim is entirely true, outside observers say.
"I'm on their side, in that consequences are highly unlikely. But to say that there's no genetically modified DNA that might get into a human, that's kind of a gray matter," said Lounibos.
Creese says Oxitec has now released 70 million of its mosquitoes in several countries and received no reports of human impacts caused by bites or from the synthetic DNA, despite regulatory oversight that encourages people to report any problems. "We are confident of the safety of our mosquito, as there's no mechanism for any adverse effect on human health. The proteins are non-toxic and non-allergenic," she said.
Oxitec should still do more to show that the synthetic DNA causes no harm when transferred into humans by its mosquitoes, said Guy Reeves, a molecular geneticist at Germany's Max Planck Institute.
Key West resident Marilyn Smith wasn't persuaded after Oxitec's presentation at a public meeting. She says neither disease has had a major outbreak yet in Florida, so "why are we being used as the experiment, the guinea pigs, just to see what happens?"
Oxitec's lab workers manually remove modified females, aiming to release only males, which don't bite for blood like females do. The modified males then mate with wild females whose offspring die, reducing the population.
Oxitec has built a breeding lab in Marathon and hopes to release its mosquitoes in a Key West neighborhood this spring.
FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said no field tests will be allowed until the agency has "thoroughly reviewed all the necessary information."
Company spokeswoman Chris Creese said the test will be similar in size to Oxitec's 2012 experiment in the Cayman Islands, where 3.3 million modified mosquitoes were released over six months, suppressing 96 percent of the targeted bugs. Oxitec says a later test in Brazil also was successful, and both countries now want larger-scale projects.
But critics accused Oxitec of failing to obtain informed consent in the Caymans, saying residents weren't told they could be bitten by a few stray females overlooked in the lab.
Instead, Oxitec said only non-biting males would be released, and that even if humans were somehow bitten, no genetically modified DNA would enter their bloodstream.
Neither claim is entirely true, outside observers say.
"I'm on their side, in that consequences are highly unlikely. But to say that there's no genetically modified DNA that might get into a human, that's kind of a gray matter," said Lounibos.
Creese says Oxitec has now released 70 million of its mosquitoes in several countries and received no reports of human impacts caused by bites or from the synthetic DNA, despite regulatory oversight that encourages people to report any problems. "We are confident of the safety of our mosquito, as there's no mechanism for any adverse effect on human health. The proteins are non-toxic and non-allergenic," she said.
Oxitec should still do more to show that the synthetic DNA causes no harm when transferred into humans by its mosquitoes, said Guy Reeves, a molecular geneticist at Germany's Max Planck Institute.
Key West resident Marilyn Smith wasn't persuaded after Oxitec's presentation at a public meeting. She says neither disease has had a major outbreak yet in Florida, so "why are we being used as the experiment, the guinea pigs, just to see what happens?"
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I was tipped off to this news from the Koinonia Newsletter. Their biblical insight on the matter:
- A Biblical View
The Bible doesn’t say anything specifically about GMO, but it does address our role as stewards of the earth. Genesis 1:26–30 tells us that God created Adam and Eve and instructed them to multiply and fill the earth, to subdue it and rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Genesis 3:17–19 tells us it was only after Adam and Eve disobeyed and sinned against God that He cursed the ground. He told Adam he would now only be able to eat the plants that grew for him by toiling and laboring over the land.
These passages show us mankind’s role on the earth and how that role changed after sin entered the world. Plants, animals, and trees today are still suffering the effects of that sin and are susceptible to the ravages of disease, drought, and insects. Introducing GMO into the world is one way man is attempting to offset the effects of our sin.
These genetic adaptations may come with much risk to humans, animals, and plants, though, and only time will tell if this experiment will be helpful or harmful in the long run. Romans 8:18–23 reminds us that today creation groans and longs to be set free from death and decay, and only in the future when God physically redeems us will that creation be restored.
We need to be careful to not go outside of God’s Word when we modify His original design. The best way to approach it is to understand our role on earth and the Biblical precepts God has laid out for us. The only way to do this is to spend time every day in His Word and in prayer.
It is only in this way that we will grow in our walk with Him.
source:
Elwart, Steve "Combatting a New Invader" Koinonia House
02 Feb 2015. Web. 04 Feb. 2015. http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2015/2354/
But as a Florida native, I found it all the more interesting that Key West is the area at risk. For those who don't know, Key West is a very openly gay community. From an online "brochure" (for lack of a better term):
Quote:
Gay Key West
For decades Key West has been considered the place where one can be OUT, Open and welcomed. It’s this tiny 2 x 4 mile island where gay visitors quickly embrace the motto, ‘One Human Family'. Surrounded by clear waters and tropical foliage, it’s easy to understand why acceptance is part of the LGBT lifestyle. Adding to the welcoming attitude visitors and locals experience are the many out elected-officials, a gay chief of police, and even a rainbow flag flying over City Hall. Relax and enjoy a safe, embracing experience when you visit Key West.
Key West, the first island of the Caribbean, is full of possibilities for the gay traveler. Surrounded by fabulous, turquoise water you will find plenty to see and do in this quaint village at mile marker 0. Streets are lined with lovingly restored Victorian homes in every hue of the famous Key West sunset. In fact, what first attracted the gay population to Key West in the 1970’s were the scores of dilapidated Victorian houses just begging to be restored into magnificent showplaces. Take a stroll down any one of Key West’s narrow side streets and it’s like you’ve stepped back in time. Here secluded courtyards and lazy porch swings are permanent fixtures.
[...]
The climate in Gay Key West is mild and enjoyable, with very little temperature drops or frosts. The wet season is from May to October, and November to April is filled with daily sunshine and balmy weather.
source: http://www.gaytravel.com/gay-guides/key-west
For decades Key West has been considered the place where one can be OUT, Open and welcomed. It’s this tiny 2 x 4 mile island where gay visitors quickly embrace the motto, ‘One Human Family'. Surrounded by clear waters and tropical foliage, it’s easy to understand why acceptance is part of the LGBT lifestyle. Adding to the welcoming attitude visitors and locals experience are the many out elected-officials, a gay chief of police, and even a rainbow flag flying over City Hall. Relax and enjoy a safe, embracing experience when you visit Key West.
Key West, the first island of the Caribbean, is full of possibilities for the gay traveler. Surrounded by fabulous, turquoise water you will find plenty to see and do in this quaint village at mile marker 0. Streets are lined with lovingly restored Victorian homes in every hue of the famous Key West sunset. In fact, what first attracted the gay population to Key West in the 1970’s were the scores of dilapidated Victorian houses just begging to be restored into magnificent showplaces. Take a stroll down any one of Key West’s narrow side streets and it’s like you’ve stepped back in time. Here secluded courtyards and lazy porch swings are permanent fixtures.
[...]
The climate in Gay Key West is mild and enjoyable, with very little temperature drops or frosts. The wet season is from May to October, and November to April is filled with daily sunshine and balmy weather.
source: http://www.gaytravel.com/gay-guides/key-west
Whether they intended to make Gay Key West sound like Sodom and Gomorrah or not, I don't know, but it sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Genesis 13:10-13 (NIV)
10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
Beautiful, lush, well-watered place, not so beautiful behavior against God :l So, if some mosquito outbreak of Dengue and chikungunya does happen, I will consider it judgment.
- Deuteronomy 28:27 (NIV)
27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
Psalm 105:31 (NIV)
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
Quote:
Dengue fever (UK /ˈdɛŋɡeɪ/ or US /ˈdɛŋɡiː/), also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever
Quote:
Chikungunya (/ˌtʃɪkənˈɡʌnjə/[1] chi-kən-guun-yə; Makonde for "that which bends up") is an infection caused by the Chikungunya virus. It features sudden onset fever usually lasting two to seven days, and joint pains typically lasting weeks or months but sometimes years.[2][3][4] The mortality rate is a little less than 1 in 1000, with the elderly most likely to die.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya
And perhaps this behavior (genetically modifying insects) will play into the fifth trumpet in the future:
- Revelation 9:1-6 (NIV)
9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
Just some thoughts. cat_idea