Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released In Africa
Thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes were released in Burkina Faso as a step towards the world’s first field test of “gene-drive” technology The trial, which has been funded by organizations linked to the Gates Foundation, but it has prompted concerns among local civil society organizations, who say their country is being set up as a laboratory for “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” technology before the risks are fully understood. The Burkina Faso test is being run by Target Malaria Project which has researchers at Imperial College London and numerous partner institutions including the University of Oxford. The main funding comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Philanthropy Project (whose major donors are a co-founder of Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies) According to Jim Thomas, the co-director of the genetic industry watchdog ETC Group, said it was shocking that the Convention on Biodiversity, which was set up to prot...