NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — Scientists at MIT are proposing releasing hordes of genetically altered mice on the posh vacation destination of Nantucket to combat the growing scourge of Lyme disease.
The Boston Globe reports researchers with MIT’s Mice Against Ticks project explained their plan to island residents at a recent meeting.
The scientists said hundreds of thousands of mice engineered to resist the bacteria that causes Lyme could help slow transmission of the disease for decades.
They say if Lyme were less prevalent among mice, then fewer ticks would contract the disease, leading to less transmission to humans.
The proposal would require approval from regulators.
The Associated Press
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