NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor is pursuing a plan to battle tick-borne diseases on Nantucket.
The Cape Cod Times reports MIT biochemist Kevin Esvelt updated the town’s select board May 30 with fundraising for a scheme to release tens of thousands of genetically-altered mice onto the island.
The project would not begin until 2024, and would involve capturing native white-footed mice immune to Lyme disease or bacteria in tick saliva that transmits that disease.
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Other mice would be bred from these and released back onto the island. If the $10 million is raised for the project, Esvelt will conduct a smaller-scale experiment on an uninhabited island.
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Information from: Cape Cod (Mass.) Times, http://www.capecodtimes.com
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