以蚊攻蚊：千万转基因蚊子即将释放野外

提起蚊子的天敌，我们第一时间想到的是蚊香，但是现在科学家有了更好的办法：以蚊攻蚊，让带有基因缺陷的转基因蚊子去对付它的自然同伴，最后让蚊虫家族自行灭绝。这种转基因雄性蚊虫在交配后就会迅速死亡，还将把致命基因缺陷传给后代。饱受寨卡病毒和登革热困扰的巴西将成为第一个“放蚊子”的国家，在获得卫生机构许可后，一千万只转基因雄性蚊虫将被释放到拥有36万人口的皮拉西卡巴。

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.

蚊虫大灭绝就要开始了。巴西正准备释放数百万转基因版本的无用吸血昆虫。如果一切按照计划来进行，那么这些蚊虫将举行巨大的性派对并开始杀死它们所有的自然同伴。

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.

这个世界上第一个也是最大的“转基因蚊虫工厂”位于巴西皮拉西卡巴，其所有者Oxitec正在制造在交配后就会迅速死亡的雄性蚊虫，这些转基因雄性蚊虫能够将致命的遗传缺陷传给后代，它们的后代也会一命呜呼。在一个受到寨卡病毒和登革热肆虐的国家，这一举措将改变巴西面貌，拯救人们的生命。

The firm has conducted five field tests between 2011 and 2017—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2017年期间就在五个地方进行了测试，测试结果表明这种性欲强的转基因雄性蚊虫被释放并且得到足够时间与毫不怀疑的雌性蚊虫交配之后，野生埃及伊蚊的数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.

在将这种毁灭性的昆虫释放到野外这方面，Oxitec还未得到巴西卫生机构的许可。现在皮拉西卡巴是它的唯一顾客，并且他们双方已经签署了为期四年、价值110万美元的订单。据Oxitec总裁哈丁•派瑞透露，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.

该公司一周能够生产六千万只蚊虫，并计划在获得卫生机构许可的第一周，将一千万只转基因雄性蚊虫释放到皮拉西卡巴。在这个有着三十六万人口的地方，每个人基本能分到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.

目前尚不明确这种有计划有步骤灭绝蚊虫的行动，会给生态系统带来怎样的广泛影响。人们认为蚊虫这种小害虫除了生存和传播疾病之外，对生态环境没有其它的影响。可在没有对长期影响进行研究的情况下，科学家们很难断言摧毁蚊虫这个物种是否不会让我们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的研究人员们似乎并不操心这事。Oxitec的生物学家卡拉•特皮迪诺在接受采访时表示：“疾病的传播有三种重要因素：蚊虫、病毒和人类。我们现在做的是消灭传播疾病的蚊虫。”

She concluded, “Eliminating the vector, we eliminate the disease.”

她最后说：“消灭掉蚊虫这种媒介之后，我们就能消灭它传播的疾病。”