In what green groups on Friday called "a victory for environmentalists, scientists, and vulnerable agricultural communities across California," state officials announced a day earlier that a controversial release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Central Valley has been suspended.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) said Thursday that Oxitec, a U.S.-owned, U.K.-based biotechnology company that develops genetically engineered (GE) insects, withdrew a research authorization application to conduct a field pilot test of a new type ofAedes aegypti, a mosquito species that in its natural form can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents.
