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  3. The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or n

The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or n

admin2020-11-04  24
问题    The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or next, researchers announced Wednesday. It’s a key step in the broader efforts to use bioengineering to eliminate malaria in the region.
   The release, which scientists are hoping to execute this month, will be the first time that any genetically engineered animal is released into the wild in Africa. While these particular mosquitoes won’t have any mutations (变异) related to malaria transmission, researchers are hoping their release, and the work that led up to it, will help improve the perception of the research and trust in the science among regulators and locals alike.
   In Africa, the project’s success depends on more than just the science of genetic engineering. The people who live in the areas where the mosquitoes will be released must give their consent, researchers must staff and maintain labs to work with genetically modified animals, and regulators must accept the new technology. The impending (即将发生的) release of these mosquitoes serves as a stress test for the whole system.
   These mosquitoes, unlike their "gene drive" counterparts, are not intended to have a lasting impact on the insect population. They have something called a "sterile (不育的) male" mutation—none of the male mosquitoes that will be released will be able to have offspring. Nearly all will be male, but less than one percent might be female—which are the only members of the species that bite. If any bite a human, they will not pass on any genetically modified material. All of the modified mosquitoes the group will release are also weaker than natural mosquitoes, so they should die off in a matter of months.
   The scientists also worked hard to address questions about the science behind their efforts—including concerns about whether those "sterile males" might somehow pass on that sterile status to humans. And they even brought in linguists and worked with the village’s residents to develop a standard vocabulary of scientific phrases in Dioula, the local language, which doesn’t have words for ideas like "gene".
What do we know about "sterile male" mosquitoes?
选项 A、Only 1% of them can bite.
B、They will pass on the sterile status to humans.
C、None of them are dangerous.
D、They are stronger than normal ones.
答案C
解析 事实细节题。由定位句可知，它们是一种带有“不育”突变的雄性蚊子，没有一只有能力产下后代。只有不到1％的蚊子可能是雌性，这些雌性蚊子即使咬人，也不会传播任何转基因物质。所有改良型蚊子也比自然型蚊子弱，因此，它们都没有危险性，故答案为C)。A)“只有1％的蚊子会咬人”，由定位句可知，只有不到1％的蚊子可能是雌性——也是该物种中仅有的会咬人的蚊子，即只有不到1％的蚊子会咬人，故排除该项；B)“他们将传播不育状态给人类”，由第五段第一句可知，这些“不育雄性”是否可能会以某种形式将这种不育状态传播给人类的问题还没有最终定论，故排除该项；D)“他们比自然型蚊子强”，由定位句可知，它们比自然型蚊子弱，并且将在几个月内死亡，故排除该项。
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