以蚊攻蚊：千萬轉基因蚊子即將釋放野外

提起蚊子的天敵，我們第一時間想到的是蚊香，但是現在科學家有了更好的辦法：以蚊攻蚊，讓帶有基因缺陷的轉基因蚊子去對付它的自然同伴，最后讓蚊蟲家族自行滅絕。這種轉基因雄性蚊蟲在交配后就會迅速死亡，還將把致命基因缺陷傳給后代。飽受寨卡病毒和登革熱困擾的巴西將成為第一個“放蚊子”的國家，在獲得衛生機構許可后，一千萬只轉基因雄性蚊蟲將被釋放到擁有36萬人口的皮拉西卡巴。

The mosquito genocide is beginning. Millions of genetically modified versions of the useless vampire insects are being prepared for release in Brazil. If all goes according to plan, the mosquitoes will have a huge sex party and begin to kill off all of their natural counterparts.
蚊蟲大滅絕就要開始了。巴西正準備釋放數百萬轉基因版本的無用吸血昆蟲。如果一切按照計劃來進行，那么這些蚊蟲將舉行巨大的性派對并開始殺死它們所有的自然同伴。

The world’s “first and biggest factory” for genetically modified mosquitos is in Piracicaba, Brazil. Its owner, Oxitec, is manufacturing male mosquitos that die quickly after they mate and pass on a genetic defect that causes any offspring to kick the bucket as well. In a country that has been hit hard by the Zika virus and dengue, this could be a game-changing, life-saving effort.
這個世界上第一個也是最大的“轉基因蚊蟲工廠”位于巴西皮拉西卡巴，其所有者Oxitec正在制造在交配后就會迅速死亡的雄性蚊蟲，這些轉基因雄性蚊蟲能夠將致命的遺傳缺陷傳給后代，它們的后代也會一命嗚呼。在一個受到寨卡病毒和登革熱肆虐的國家，這一舉措將改變巴西面貌，拯救人們的生命。

The firm has conducted five field tests between 2011 and 2014—the results showed a 90 percent decline in the population of wild Aedes aegypti after the horny, modded male mosquitos had time to get it on with unsuspecting female mosquitos.
該公司在2011年至2014年期間就在五個地方進行了測試，測試結果表明這種性欲強的轉基因雄性蚊蟲被釋放并且得到足夠時間與毫不懷疑的雌性蚊蟲交配之后，野生埃及伊蚊的數量下降了百分之九十。

Oxitec has yet to receive approval from Brazilian health authorities to release its devastating swarm into the wild. The town of Piracicaba is currently its only customer and the two have signed a four-year, $1.1 million deal. The company is in conversation with “several municipalities and states,” according to Oxitec president Hadyn Parry.
在將這種毀滅性的昆蟲釋放到野外這方面，Oxitec還未得到巴西衛生機構的許可。現在皮拉西卡巴是它的唯一顧客，并且他們雙方已經簽署了為期四年、價值110萬美元的訂單。據Oxitec總裁哈丁?派瑞透露，該公司仍在與一些市政當局和州洽商。

The factory can produce 60 million mosquitos a week and plans to release 10 million of them in Piracicaba the first week that it has approval. In a town with a population of 360,000, that’s a little over 27 mosquitos per person.
該公司一周能夠生產六千萬只蚊蟲，并計劃在獲得衛生機構許可的第一周，將一千萬只轉基因雄性蚊蟲釋放到皮拉西卡巴。在這個有著三十六萬人口的地方，每個人基本能分到27只蚊蟲還有余。

It’s truly unknown what kind of broader effect the systematic extinction of mosquitos would have on the eco-system. The little pests are generally believed to have no broader purpose than to survive and spread disease. But without long-term impact studies, it’s difficult to say whether or not the destruction of mosquito species would come without consequence.
目前尚不明確這種有計劃有步驟滅絕蚊蟲的行動，會給生態系統帶來怎樣的廣泛影響。人們認為蚊蟲這種小害蟲除了生存和傳播疾病之外，對生態環境沒有其它的影響。可在沒有對長期影響進行研究的情況下，科學家們很難斷言摧毀蚊蟲這個物種是否不會讓我們遭受任何不好的后果。

That doesn’t seem to bother the researchers at Oxitec. “There are three essential factors for the transmission of these diseases: the mosquitoes, the virus and humans,” Oxitec biologist Karla Tepedino said. “What we do here is eliminate the mosquitoes, which transmit the virus.”
然而Oxitec的研究人員們似乎并不操心這事。Oxitec的生物學家卡拉?特皮迪諾在接受采訪時表示：“疾病的傳播有三種重要因素：蚊蟲、病毒和人類。我們現在做的是消滅傳播疾病的蚊蟲。”

She concluded, “Eliminating the vector, we eliminate the disease.”
她最后說：“消滅掉蚊蟲這種媒介之后，我們就能消滅它傳播的疾病。”

英文來源：gizmodo
翻譯：煎蛋網
審校&編輯：丹妮