Google program would release millions of sterile mosquitoes in Florida

• Google wants to release 32 million bacteria-treated mosquitoes into Florida.
• The plan is part of the company’s Debug initiative, a decade-old program that intends to reduce diseases spread by mosquitoes worldwide.
• When a male infected with Wolbachia pipientis bacteria mates with a wild female mosquito, the resulting eggs don’t hatch, helping reduce the overall population.

Google wants to release 32 million bacteria-treated mosquitoes into Florida.

The plan is part of the company’s Debug initiative, a decade-old program that intends to reduce diseases spread by the world’s deadliest animal. Google filed an experimental use permit to inject mosquitoes with a specific strain of the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria, which would prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

When an infected male mates with a wild female mosquito, the resulting eggs don’t hatch, helping reduce the overall population.

“We’re using an idea that’s been around since the 1950s. It’s called the Sterile…