tested in several locations around the world. Google's contribution is not the bacterium itself but rather automation.
Through its Debug Project, which originated within Alphabet's Verily life sciences division around 2016, Google developed automated systems capable of breeding, sorting, packaging, and distributing mosquitoes at industrial scale. Machine vision, robotics, and automated sorting systems are used to separate males from females before release.
The long-term goal appears to be creating a scalable mosquitosuppression platform that can be deployed over large geographic areas.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
The EPA determined that both applications may be of regional and national significance and opened them to public comment.
Many commenters expressed concerns about unintended ecological consequences, the possibility of accidental female releases, and the long-term effects of suppressing mosquito populations.
One commenter wrote, 'Please do not allow this. Do they even know how they would react once in the wild with other mosquitoes? I understand that they are supposed to not be able to reproduce, but we know nature finds a way.'
Another questioned Google's automated sorting system, writing, 'We were not provided with any information on how reliable it will be at sorting the males from females.'
Supporters counter that Wolbachiabased suppression programs have been studied extensively and that the EPA's review process is specifically designed to evaluate environmental and public-health risks before any releases occur.
What Happens Next?
As of press time, the EPA had not indicated whether it intends to approve either permit. But the agency's eventual decision will help determine whether Google's decadelong effort to automate mosquito suppression remains an experiment — or becomes the foundation of a new commercial approach to mosquito control.
