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I really didn't get this idea when it was first proposed, and I still don't. I'm about as far from an expert as you can get, but it seems to me that if you modi
by markbnj 7y ago
I really didn't get this idea when it was first proposed, and I still don't. I'm about as far from an expert as you can get, but it seems to me that if you modify the genes of a wild population such that they produce less viable offspring you've just reduced their evolutionary fitness. That would leave a gap to be exploited by the members of the species whose genes you did not modify. On the surface anyway it seems like that might be what happened here.
- blisterpeanuts 7y agoI remember Oxitec or a related entity mentioning at the time that it was not a permanent solution, but would need to be repeated every year to re-suppress the population.
- NasKe 7y agoThey are not trying to modify the genes of the wild population. They release a bunch of males that have this "lethal" gene, diminishing the size of the next generation. It is not a permanent solution, but it can be used during the summer to control the population size.