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.蚊虫大绝种就要开始了。巴西于是以打算获释数百万转基因版本的多余猫昆虫。
如果一切按照计划来展开，那么这些蚊虫将举办极大的性派对并开始杀掉它们所有的大自然同伴。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.这个世界上第一个也是仅次于的“转基因蚊虫工厂”坐落于巴西皮拉西卡巴，其所有者Oxitec正在生产在交配后就不会很快丧生的雄性蚊虫，这些转基因雄性蚊虫需要将可怕的遗传缺陷传授给后代，它们的后代也不会一命呜呼。
在一个受到寨卡病毒和登革热侵袭的国家，这一措施将转变巴西面貌，解救人们的生命。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.该公司在2011年至2014年期间就在五个地方展开了测试，测试结果表明这种性欲强的转基因雄性蚊虫被获释并且获得充足时间与从不猜测的雌性蚊虫交配之后，野生埃及伊蚊的数量上升了百分之九十。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.在将这种毁灭性的昆虫获释到野外这方面，Oxitec还并未获得巴西卫生机构的许可。
现在皮拉西卡巴是它的唯一顾客，并且他们双方早已签订了为期四年、价值110万美元的订单。据Oxitec总裁哈丁.为首瑞透漏，该公司仍在与一些市政当局和州洽商。
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.该公司一周需要生产六千万只蚊虫，并计划在取得卫生机构许可的第一周，将一千万只转基因雄性蚊虫获释到皮拉西卡巴。在这个具有三十六万人口的地方，每个人基本能分出27只蚊虫还有余。
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.目前尚能不具体这种有计划有步骤绝种蚊虫的行动，不会给生态系统带给怎样的普遍影响。人们指出蚊虫这种小害虫除了存活和传播疾病之外，对生态环境没其它的影响。
可在没对长年影响展开研究的情况下，科学家们很难断言毁坏蚊虫这个物种否会让我们遭到任何很差的后果。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的研究人员们或许并不操心这事。Oxitec的生物学家卡拉.特皮迪诺在拒绝接受专访时回应：“疾病的传播有三种最重要因素：蚊虫、病毒和人类。
我们现在做到的是歼灭传播疾病的蚊虫。”She concluded, “Eliminating the vector, we eliminate the disease.”她最后说道：“歼灭掉蚊虫这种媒介之后，我们就能歼灭它传播的疾病。
本文来源：b体育官网-www.chengyuehb.com
