Google's 'mosquito cannon' revealed: Firm plans to eradicate the disease carrying pests in Fresno by releasing millions of males infected with a virus that leaves females sterile

  • Google-owned Verily has been breeding mosquitoes engineered with bacteria that makes them produce 'dud eggs' - effectively tapering off the population
  • Called the 'Debug' project, the firm has released millions in the Fresno area
  • So far, it has led to slashing the female population by as much as 95 percent
  • Aedes Aegypti are one of the world's deadliest species, carrying viruses like Zika

Google is making headway on a landmark project that hopes to one day rid the world of disease-carrying mosquitoes that can be a nuisance to some regions and dangerously fatal to others. 

The 'Debug Fresno' project, launched by Google parent company Alphabet's Verily life sciences unit, has been releasing millions of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes in northern California's Fresno county.

Approximately 80,000 of the tiny, engineered mosquitoes, which have a wingspan of just a few millimeters, are set free from a roving van using a 'mosquito cannon' after being infected with a bacteria in the hopes of killing off the entire mosquito population in that area. 

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The 'Debug Fresno' project, launched by  Alphabet's Verily unit, has been releasing tens of thousands of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes (pictured) in northern California's Fresno county

The 'Debug Fresno' project, launched by Alphabet's Verily unit, has been releasing tens of thousands of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes (pictured) in northern California's Fresno county

WHAT IS THE AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO? 

The Aedes aegypti has white markings on its legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the upper surface of its thorax.

The mosquito originated in Africa but is now found in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world.

Only the female bites for blood which she needs to mature her eggs.

What is Dengue?

Dengue causes high fever, severe headaches and joint pain.

The illness can progress to a hemorrhagic fever during which patients experience more bleeding and persistent vomiting. If not treated it can progress to shock and death.

What is Zika?

Zika consists of a mild fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.

Some babies with Microcephaly, a condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected, have been reported among mothers infected with Zika virus while pregnant.

 

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The male Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes have been infected with a naturally-occurring bacteria called Wolbachia back in Verily's high-tech labs in San Francisco. 

Once they're released, they'll attempt to mate with other female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes and the bacteria will effectively result in them producing dud eggs, with the hopes of causing the population to taper off over time. 

This process is referred to as the sterile-insect technique, where a population is killed off by limiting its ability to reproduce. 

So far, the project has been successful. 

Over the past six months, the firm has released more than 15 million mosquitoes and managed to cut the female mosquito population by two-thirds.    

Verily announced earlier this month that the Debug project has slashed the number of 'biting, female' Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes by 95 percent. 

'In April 2018, we hatched the first batch of eggs, fueled up the release vans, and embarked on a plan to conduct the world’s largest study of Wolbachia-based Sterile Insect Technique targeting Aedes Aegypti,' Verily explained in a blog post. 

'Aedes Aegypti is not just a nuisance, but also a potential public health threat to the people of the Central Valley of California and actively dangerous to millions of others around the world. 

'We are energized by what we achieved this year and look forward to bringing this technology to communities most burdened by Aedes Aegypti throughout the world,' the firm added. 

This bodes well for future research that Verily hopes to conduct. 

Approximately 80,000 of the tiny mosquitoes, which have a wingspan of just a few millimeters, are set free from one of Verily's roving vans after being infected with a bacteria in the hopes of killing off the entire mosquito population in that area

Approximately 80,000 of the tiny mosquitoes, which have a wingspan of just a few millimeters, are set free from one of Verily's roving vans after being infected with a bacteria in the hopes of killing off the entire mosquito population in that area

Over the past six months, the firm has released more than 15 million mosquitoes and managed to cut the female mosquito population by two-thirds, achieving a 95% reduction

Over the past six months, the firm has released more than 15 million mosquitoes and managed to cut the female mosquito population by two-thirds, achieving a 95% reduction

It's unclear if the firm will sign on for another season for Fresno, but there's also a second project in Australia and Verily hopes to bring the technology to other, more vulnerable parts of the world, Bloomberg noted. 

The Australia project, located in Innisfail, had a similarly promising rate of success, reducing the mosquito population there by 80 percent.   

Verily's Debug project begins at the company's futuristic laboratories, where automation keeps the rearing process going. 

Robots package containers of larvae that are filled with water and air, in addition to feeding them and keeping the specimens warm, according to Bloomberg. 

Automated sorters move trays of mosquito larvae into a rack at the Verily labs in San Francisco. The robots are in charge of taking care of the specimens by feeding them and warming them 

Automated sorters move trays of mosquito larvae into a rack at the Verily labs in San Francisco. The robots are in charge of taking care of the specimens by feeding them and warming them 

Pictured are the mosquito specimens collected in Verily's labs in San Francisco. Before they're released, the mosquitoes are tagged with a digital identifier so that they can be tracked

Pictured are the mosquito specimens collected in Verily's labs in San Francisco. Before they're released, the mosquitoes are tagged with a digital identifier so that they can be tracked

Another set of robots sort the mosquitoes by sex, size and other identifiers. 

Before they're released, the mosquitoes are tagged with a digital identifier that allows the scientists to track them using a GPS coordinate.  

The vans that disperse the mosquitoes also rely on lasers to count the bugs as they're released, as well as software that determines which areas they should be released in.

A researcher sits in the passenger seat of the van and gently blows into a tube that releases the mosquitoes out the window and into Fresno's suburban neighborhoods, Bloomberg said. 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The so-called ‘good bugs’ are infected with the naturally-occurring bacteria called Wolbachia to target the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito.

This species is known to carry an array of potentially deadly diseases such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya.

When released across Fresno to mate with the wild populations, these sterile males and wild females will not be able to successfully breed.

Instead, the 'bad bugs' that mate with the 'good bugs' will produce eggs that cannot hatch.

This means each generation will subsequently be smaller than the one before it, until 'all of the bugs are practically gone.' 

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Mosquitoes reportedly became a massive problem in Fresno beginning in 2013, as they breed in places with small amounts of standing water and, thanks to their small size, which makes them nearly invisible, they're able to hide discreetly inside homes. 

It's unclear where they came from, as the mosquitoes are traditionally native to warmer and wetter climates, Bloomberg said.  

While they don't carry deadly diseases in Fresno, they do in other regions. 

Aedes Aegypti have proven to be one of the world's deadliest species, carrying diseases like Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika, which can kill up to thousands of people each year. 

Verily is working to make its sterile-insect technique easy to replicate and cheap so that it can sell it to other parts of the world.

Aedes Aegypti have proven to be one of the world's deadliest species, carrying diseases like Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika, which can kill up to thousands of people each year 

Aedes Aegypti have proven to be one of the world's deadliest species, carrying diseases like Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika, which can kill up to thousands of people each year 

Jacob Crawford, a senior scientist at Verily, displays a demo box of sterile, male mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are bred in Verily's high-tech laboratories in San Francisco

Jacob Crawford, a senior scientist at Verily, displays a demo box of sterile, male mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are bred in Verily's high-tech laboratories in San Francisco

'The key part is trying to be able to do a program like this in a very affordable and efficient way,' Jacob Crawford, a senior scientist at Verily, told Bloomberg. 

'So that we can go to places where there isn't a lot of money.'

It comes as other tech luminaries are exploring the eradication of deadly mosquitoes, including Bill Gates, who has promised to spend $1 billion on technology that could wipe out malaria. 

He's also exploring research around creating genetically modified mosquitoes. 

HOW TECH FIRMS WILL TAKE ON MOSQUITOES

Smart traps - Roughly the size of large birdhouses, these smart traps use robotics, infrared sensors, machine learning and cloud computing to help health officials keep tabs on potential disease carriers.

Genetic modifications - Oxitec, an Oxford-based division of Germantown, Maryland-based Intrexon Corp, is creating male mosquitoes genetically modified to be sterile.

Automatic sorting - A new technique for sorting male and female mosquito larvae may lead to the use of sterile males. 

MosquitoMate's labs in Lexington, immature mosquitoes are forced through a sieve-like mechanism that separates smaller males from females.

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