16/April/21

 

This spring, the biotechnology company Oxitec plans to release GM mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. Oxitec says its technology will combat dengue fever, a potentially life-threatening disease, and other mosquito-borne viruses — such as Zika — mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. But Oxitec has been proposing to experimentally release GM mosquitos in the Keys since 2011, and the plan has long been met with suspicion among locals and debate among scientists. Some locals say they fear being guinea pigs. Critics say they are concerned about the possible effects GM mosquitoes could have on human health and the environment. Undark

 

 

If you are in the US, there's more information on how you can join the campaign against the experimental release of GM mosquitoes here: https://stopgmm.com StopGMM

 

 

Popular herbicide products widely available at hardware and garden stores contain undisclosed “inert” ingredients that can kill bumblebees, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The study compared several products, most of which contained the herbicide glyphosate, which is best known as the active ingredient in Roundup products. They found highly variable toxicity to bumblebees, including one formulation that killed 96% of the bees within 24 hours. Yet another herbicide formulation was found to cause no harm to bumblebees. Center for Biological Diversity