This is not a consequence of selection, but the most real genetic mutants. They were created in the laboratory using the latest CRISPR system (Crisp) - a special method of genome editing. Why did scientists need this?
Red-eyed insects are just a demonstration of the capabilities of the latest development. Geneticists believe that in the future, these technologies may be useful to the military. The fact is that with the help of such modifications, almost any species can be turned into a real bacteriological weapon. Just imagine what damage, for example, an improved malaria mosquito, which is able not only to live in almost any environment and climate, but also to carry deadly viruses over great distances, can cause?
Will monster creators be able to control their monsters? Will these experiments become the beginning of a global epidemic that threatens to destroy humanity? What kinds of insect killers are living in laboratories today?
The invasion of locusts, midges and dog flies (as the gadflies were called in ancient times) are 3 out of 10 Egyptian executions described in the Old Testament, but today people have decided to subjugate this living biological weapon.
The US laboratory has already created an army of mutant insects. This is made possible by the new CRISPR technology. The genome editor was a real breakthrough in genetic engineering and now scientists can change the DNA chain.
Using CRISPR technology, scientists have developed malaria-resistant red-eyed mosquitoes. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), from 1.5 to 3 million people die from this disease every year.
Mosquito.
Promotional video:
Geneticists suggest replacing all wild mosquitoes in nature with mutants bred in the laboratory.
It turns out that geneticists simply have no room for error. After all, just one arthropod mutant can change the entire species and destroy the ecosystem. The genome editor is already interested in the US Department of Defense, the military wants to use insects as an offensive weapon.
In the wake of insects, genetics plan to take on worms and parasites capable of devouring people from the inside. CRISPR is now used all over the world. Scientists argue that the process of creating mutants has never been so simple and cheap that even a laboratory is not needed to use this biotechnology. Therefore, biologists fear that the genome editor may very soon end up in the hands of terrorists.
Today, there are approximately 250 million insects for every inhabitant of our planet. Every year they destroy 25% of the world's harvest, and about 3 million people die from their bites. Entomologists are confident that if the genetically modified hordes get out of control, it will be a real disaster.