LIVE SCIENCE - Google wants to release 64 million bacteria-riddled mosquitoes in California and Florida — but scientists aren't concerned.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing an application made by the tech giant for an experimental mosquito release permit, which, counterintuitively, could reduce mosquito populations that carry diseases.
The release is part of Google's Debug initiative, which aims to deploy millions of non-biting male mosquitoes infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis — commonly known as Wolbachia — into the environment. This bacterium doesn't harm infected males, but it does prevent any uninfected females they mate with from having offspring, thereby slashing mosquito populations over time.
In this case, Google is targeting southern house mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus), an invasive species native to tropical and subtropical regions that can spread diseases like West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis in humans.
The proposal has scientists mostly buzzing with enthusiasm. Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran, an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside, studies the ecology and behavior of mosquitoes in the context of public health, and told Live Science that using Wolbachia is a "reasonable" mosquito control approach, particularly when compared to the use of broad insecticides.