Latest news with #ChristopherPreston
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ethical questions swarm scientists after discovery that could wipe out pesky mosquitoes
Scientists have developed methods to wipe potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes off of the face of the Earth. But, should they? The implications of such a monumental call remain unknown and bioethicists say they are not 'in favor of remaking the world to suit human desires.' 'The eradication of the mosquito through a genetic technology would have the potential to create global eradication in a way that just felt a little risky,' Christopher Preston, a University of Montana environmental philosopher, recently told The Washington Post. However, we have the technology, which largely targets the female mosquitoes responsible for biting and spreading malaria, dengue, Zika, and other nasty pathogens. Using genetic tools, researchers can edit the genetic makeup of mosquitoes and make the females infertile. In January, scientists in Australia that they were able to alter male mosquitoes to produce venom proteins in their semen that can reduce the lifespan of females. This week, researchers at the University of Maryland said they have successfully created a 'sexually transmitted disease' that would deliver a deadly fungal infection to the females. 'It's essentially an arms race between the mosquitoes and us,' University of Maryland professor Raymond St. Leger said in a statement. 'Just as they keep adapting to what we create, we have to continuously develop new and creative ways to fight them.' The fungus is called Metarhizium. Sprayed on male mosquitoes, it works by producing neuroteoxins that kill when they are injected into a female mosquito. It is harmless to humans. 'The fungus additionally made infected mosquitoes less able to sense insecticides, and much more susceptible to them, so it's really a double blow against them,' St. Leger said. This could be great news in the fight against mosquito-borne illness. Last year, the rare but serious eastern equine encephalitis virus forced New York to declare an 'imminent threat,' a New Hampshire man died, and public parks and other areas closed in Massachusetts as the virus spread. This year, cities across the country have reported cases of West Nile virus, and authorities started spraying adulticide in Houston's Harris County. Malaria also continues to be a leading cause of preventable illness and death, resulting in 608,000 deaths across 85 countries in 2022. But, just how far should humans take the war against mosquitoes? It can be easy to overlook the role they play in our ecosystems. They are an important source of food for fish, frogs, and pollinators, including birds and bats. But, they are also pollinators themselves, and their primary food source is flower nectar — not blood. Of the more than 3,000 species on Earth, just 400 can transmit diseases to people, and most of them don't actually feed on humans at all, Yvonne-Marie Linton, research director at the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, told Smithsonian Magazine. Mosquitoes have been around buzzing around since dinosaurs roamed the Earth some 200 million years ago. Earth is currently in the middle of a human-fueled biodiversity crisis, including massive insect loss driven by agriculture and related pollution, in addition to climate change-driven disasters and other events. Without insects that pollinate billions of dollars in crops in North America, we'd have a lot less food and other products. Mosquitoes are one of the only species people have posited should be eliminated. Still, they are the world's deadliest animal. And, especially during the hot and wet summer months, the risk for disease is increasing. Human-caused climate change is creating more favorable conditions for mosquitoes, resulting in population expansion. That's especially true along U.S. coasts. But, even in droughts, they can be 'extra bitey.' 'It's believed that they alone, by transmitting disease, have killed half of all human beings who have ever lived,' St. Leger noted. 'Being able to eliminate mosquitoes quickly and effectively will save people all over the world.'
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Ethical questions swarm scientists after discovery that could wipe out pesky mosquitoes
Scientists have developed methods to wipe potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes off of the face of the Earth. But, should they? The implications of such a monumental call remain unknown and bioethicists say they are not 'in favor of remaking the world to suit human desires.' 'The eradication of the mosquito through a genetic technology would have the potential to create global eradication in a way that just felt a little risky,' Christopher Preston, a University of Montana environmental philosopher, recently told The Washington Post. However, we have the technology, which largely targets the female mosquitoes responsible for biting and spreading malaria, dengue, Zika, and other nasty pathogens. Using genetic tools, researchers can edit the genetic makeup of mosquitoes and make the females infertile. In January, scientists in Australia that they were able to alter male mosquitoes to produce venom proteins in their semen that can reduce the lifespan of females. This week, researchers at the University of Maryland said they have successfully created a 'sexually transmitted disease' that would deliver a deadly fungal infection to the females. 'It's essentially an arms race between the mosquitoes and us,' University of Maryland professor Raymond St. Leger said in a statement. 'Just as they keep adapting to what we create, we have to continuously develop new and creative ways to fight them.' The fungus is called Metarhizium. Sprayed on male mosquitoes, it works by producing neuroteoxins that kill when they are injected into a female mosquito. It is harmless to humans. 'The fungus additionally made infected mosquitoes less able to sense insecticides, and much more susceptible to them, so it's really a double blow against them,' St. Leger said. This could be great news in the fight against mosquito-borne illness. Last year, the rare but serious eastern equine encephalitis virus forced New York to declare an 'imminent threat,' a New Hampshire man died, and public parks and other areas closed in Massachusetts as the virus spread. This year, cities across the country have reported cases of West Nile virus, and authorities started spraying adulticide in Houston's Harris County. Malaria also continues to be a leading cause of preventable illness and death, resulting in 608,000 deaths across 85 countries in 2022. But, just how far should humans take the war against mosquitoes? It can be easy to overlook the role they play in our ecosystems. They are an important source of food for fish, frogs, and pollinators, including birds and bats. But, they are also pollinators themselves, and their primary food source is flower nectar — not blood. Of the more than 3,000 species on Earth, just 400 can transmit diseases to people, and most of them don't actually feed on humans at all, Yvonne-Marie Linton, research director at the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, told Smithsonian Magazine. Mosquitoes have been around buzzing around since dinosaurs roamed the Earth some 200 million years ago. Earth is currently in the middle of a human-fueled biodiversity crisis, including massive insect loss driven by agriculture and related pollution, in addition to climate change-driven disasters and other events. Without insects that pollinate billions of dollars in crops in North America, we'd have a lot less food and other products. Mosquitoes are one of the only species people have posited should be eliminated. Still, they are the world's deadliest animal. And, especially during the hot and wet summer months, the risk for disease is increasing. Human-caused climate change is creating more favorable conditions for mosquitoes, resulting in population expansion. That's especially true along U.S. coasts. But, even in droughts, they can be 'extra bitey.' 'It's believed that they alone, by transmitting disease, have killed half of all human beings who have ever lived,' St. Leger noted. 'Being able to eliminate mosquitoes quickly and effectively will save people all over the world.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Heavy rainfall causes flooding for Mount Morris residents
MOUNT MORRIS, N.Y. (WROC) – Heavy rainfall across Livingston County caused many residents to experience some major flooding, including those at the Mint Trailer Park in Mount Morris. Luckily, no major damage was done to any of the park's homes, but debris covered the roadway and the creek bank. Christopher Preston Sr., a park manager, was onsite cleaning up the loose branches and rock. He says the majority of the debris came from a beaver dam in the creek. The water broke through the dam, sending sticks and logs into the resident's yards. One neighbor living right near the bank, Susan Guess, tells me that due to the water erosion, the creek bank behind her home has been slowly creeping in, leaving her in a dangerous position. 'We have no land left,' she says. 'When we moved here, it was nothing like this. I could mow down there, our picnic table was down way lower, and now the water keeps undercutting and we keep losing bank.' With storms like these bringing potential flooding, Susan worries about the future of her home. 'I'm just afraid that some night I'm going to be sleeping, and I'm just going to go straight into the creek,' Susan explains. 'I don't think we have many more next ones according to my property, we're in a dire situation right now in my opinion.' She's not the only one worried about her property though. 'Their great people down here, you know,' said Preston Sr. 'They help each other when they need it. So whenever there's a flood risk, I'm always concerned about these guys.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists trying to bring back the woolly mammoth end up with woolly mice
Extinction may be forever, but the next best thing may be just around the corner. Biotech company Colossal Biosciences is attempting to genetically engineer living animals to resemble extinct species such as the woolly mammoth. Woolly mammoths, which disappeared roughly 4,000 years ago, once roamed the icy landscapes of Europe, Asia, and North America. Colossal first announced its audacious plan to "revive" the woolly mammoth, and later the dodo, in 2021. Since then, the company has concentrated on identifying key traits of these lost creatures by analyzing ancient DNA. Their goal, according to CEO Ben Lamm, is to genetically engineer these traits into living animals. This approach has been met with a mixed reception from the scientific community, with some questioning its potential benefits for conservation efforts. 'You're not actually resurrecting anything — you're not bringing back the ancient past,' said Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research. On Tuesday, Colossal announced that its scientists have simultaneously edited seven genes in mice embryos to create mice with long, thick, woolly hair. They nicknamed the extra-furry rodents as the 'Colossal woolly mouse.' Results were posted online, but they have not yet been published in a journal or vetted by independent scientists. The feat "is technologically pretty cool,' said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who was not involved in the research. Scientists have been genetically engineering mice since the 1970s, but new technologies like CRISPR 'make it a lot more efficient and easier,' said Lynch. The Colossal scientists reviewed DNA databases of mouse genes to identify genes related to hair texture and fat metabolism. Each of these genetic variations are 'present already in some living mice,' said Colossal's chief scientist Beth Shapiro, but 'we put them all together in a single mouse.' They picked the two traits because these mutations are likely related to cold tolerance — a quality that woolly mammoths must have had to survive on the prehistoric Arctic steppe. Colossal said it focused on mice first to confirm if the process works before potentially moving on to edit the embryos of Asian elephants, the closest living relatives to woolly mammoths. However, because Asian elephants are an endangered species, there will be 'a lot of processes and red tape' before any plan can move forward, said Colossal's Lamm, whose company has raised over $400 million in funding. Independent experts are skeptical about the idea of 'de-extinction.' 'You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but it's not bringing back a woolly mammoth. It's changing an Asian elephant,' said University of Montana's Preston. Still, the refinement of precision gene-editing in animals could have other uses for conservation or animal agriculture, said Bhanu Telugu, who studies animal biotechnology at the University of Missouri and was not involved in the new research. Telugu said he was impressed by Colossal's technology advances that enabled scientists to pinpoint which genes to target. The same approach might one day help fight diseases in people, said Lamm. So far, the company has spun off two health care companies. 'It's part of how we monetize our business,' said Lamm.
Arab Times
05-03-2025
- Science
- Arab Times
Scientists genetically engineer mice with thick hair like the extinct woolly mammoth
WASHINGTON, March 5, (AP): Extinction is still forever, but scientists at the biotech company Colossal Biosciences are trying what they say is the next best thing to restoring ancient beasts - genetically engineering living animals with qualities to resemble extinct species like the woolly mammoth. Woolly mammoths roamed the frozen tundras of Europe, Asia and North America until they went extinct around 4,000 years ago. Colossal made a splash in 2021 when it unveiled an ambitious plan to revive the woolly mammoth and later the dodo bird. Since then, the company has focused on identifying key traits of extinct animals by studying ancient DNA, with a goal to genetically "engineer them into living animals,' said CEO Ben Lamm. Outside scientists have mixed views about whether this strategy will be helpful for conservation. "You're not actually resurrecting anything - you're not bringing back the ancient past,' said Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research. On Tuesday, Colossal announced that its scientists have simultaneously edited seven genes in mice embryos to create mice with long, thick, woolly hair. They nicknamed the extra-furry rodents as the "Colossal woolly mouse.' Results were posted online, but they have not yet been published in a journal or vetted by independent scientists. The feat "is technologically pretty cool,' said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who was not involved in the research. Scientists have been genetically engineering mice since the 1970s, but new technologies like CRISPR "make it a lot more efficient and easier,' said Lynch. The Colossal scientists reviewed DNA databases of mouse genes to identify genes related to hair texture and fat metabolism. Each of these genetic variations are "present already in some living mice,' said Colossal's chief scientist Beth Shapiro, but "we put them all together in a single mouse.' They picked the two traits because these mutations are likely related to cold tolerance - a quality that woolly mammoths must have had to survive on the prehistoric Arctic steppe. Colossal said it focused on mice first to confirm if the process works before potentially moving on to edit the embryos of Asian elephants, the closest living relatives to woolly mammoths. However, because Asian elephants are an endangered species, there will be "a lot of processes and red tape' before any plan can move forward, said Colossal's Lamm, whose company has raised over $400 million in funding. Independent experts are skeptical about the idea of "de-extinction.' "You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but it's not bringing back a woolly mammoth. It's changing an Asian elephant,' said University of Montana's Preston. Still, the refinement of precision gene-editing in animals could have other uses for conservation or animal agriculture, said Bhanu Telugu, who studies animal biotechnology at the University of Missouri and was not involved in the new research. Telugu said he was impressed by Colossal's technology advances that enabled scientists to pinpoint which genes to target. The same approach might one day help fight diseases in people, said Lamm. So far, the company has spun off two health care companies.
