National Discourse

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 19:00:00 -0500

Three of our IGERT faculty, Drs. Mike Cobb, Andrew Binder and Fred Gould, developed the first nationally representative survey in the U.S. to gauge public opinion on the use of genetic manipulations to drive down mosquito populations and related diseases. Conducted by Dr. Cobb, the survey of 1,211 people was conducted in July 2012. The objective was to learn what the public thinks about GM mosquitoes, since they are already being released in other parts of the world, and are under consideration for use in the U.S. The poll found that giving people accurate information about how this process works increases their support for the concept, but support is also contingent on the label used to describe these mosquitoes. The survey findings are an excellent example of how public attitudes toward novel scientific innovations are far from fixed. The survey results are available online: http://geneticengsoc.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/MosquitoSurvey.August5.pdf