Google Plans Release of 32 Million Mosquitoes in U.S.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has filed a proposal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release 32 million specially treated mosquitoes across Florida and California over the next two years.

The initiative aims to combat the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, particularly West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis.

The project, part of Alphabet's Debug initiative launched in 2016 through its life sciences subsidiary, Verily, is currently under EPA review, with a public comment period that opened in early June. The exact release locations in Florida and California have not yet been announced.

The plan involves breeding male mosquitoes infected with a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia, which, when released into the wild, will mate with female mosquitoes, resulting in non-viable eggs that do not hatch. This method is expected to gradually reduce the local mosquito population without adding extra bites to residents, as male mosquitoes do not bite humans.

The project aims to release 16 million mosquitoes per state in the first year, followed by another 16 million in the second year.