Brazil mutant mosquitoes to breed out diseases

Larvae of mosquito Aedes aegypti OX513A, infected with the Wolbachia bacteria which alters the reproductive capability of its host, seen at Oxitec facility in Piracicaba, Brazil, on October 26, 2016

Scientists in Brazil are preparing to release millions of factory-bred mosquitoes in an attempt to wipe out their distant cousins that carry tropical diseases. The insects’ method: have sex and then die.

British firm Oxitec says its genetically modified mosquitoes will swarm in among ordinary species such as Aedes aegypti, the insect that carries feared diseases such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. Read more.