One shy moth, a flashy gene, and a crossroads

"We're not in a hurry because we want to make sure it works right first," Miller says. Some people mistakenly interpret the project as spreading new altered genes into a wild population, he says, which makes them uncomfortable. But "that is exactly not what is supposed to happen."

Though the moths initially would carry only the marker gene, not the lethal one, the open field test would be "potentially precedent setting," says Peter Jenkins, an attorney and policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Technology Assessment in Washington.

But he says it's far from actually happening. "Our view of it is that the [USDA] has to do a full environmental study before it does any field releases," he says. "It certainly hasn't done that yet. We haven't seen any evidence that they've been able to come up with something that is shown to be environmentally safe yet."

Meanwhile, Miller says he welcomes public scrutiny. "The more people who know [about our work], the better," he says. "This is a new technology that people are just getting used to," and the public ought to have an opportunity "to poke holes in our strategy."

In the future, scientists hope that insects that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, typhus, and river blindness can be genetically altered to no longer be carriers. Malaria alone is estimated to afflict 300 million to 500 million people per year, causing 1 million to 3 million deaths.

Insects might also be altered to become better workers for humankind. Genes inserted into silkworms might cause them to produce pharmaceuticals or superstrong silk. GM honeybees could be designed to better resist diseases and pesticides, increasing their value and productivity.

But would genetically altering honeybees, for example, change their honey in any way that would be harmful to humans? This is the kind of question that will have to be answered.

"If the public is to support the introduction and release of GM insects, it will need assurances that the issues these insects raise regarding the environment, public health, agriculture, society, and food safety have been carefully considered," concludes a January report by Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. The group is also planning a major conference on regulating genetically modified insects this fall.

Because of their mobility and small size, the report notes, GM insects would be "difficult to recall once they are released."

Scientists are tinkering with the genetic makeup of several insects to benefit people. Following are some of the bugs they're testing and their possible uses.

Honeybee: Create an insecticide-resistant honeybee to protect investment in honeymaking.

Kissing bug: Engineer a bacteria to live inside the bug and kill the parasite that causes Chagas' disease.

Mosquitoes: Create and breed a mosquito that inhibits the spread of malaria to humans.

Planthoppers: Engineer bacteria that would block the transmission of rice-stripe virus by planthoppers, protecting rice crops.

Silkworm: Develop a worm that can produce low-cost pharmaceuticals or other medical/industrial proteins.

SOURCE: "Bugs in the System" (January 2004), a report by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology

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