This scientist wants to eliminate Lyme disease from Nantucket by genetically modifying a mouse

Scientists propose the stage of the radical evolution of genetic engineering of Martha's white-legged mouse Vineyard and Nantucket to rid the islands of Lyme disease. Bacterial infection can cause fevers, fatigue and rashes – enough reason to want to eradicate it. But undetected, Lyme disease can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 300,000 people contract the disease each year.

People who experience idyllic summer getaways off the coast of Massachusetts are particularly eager to get rid of the scourge, as up to 40% of Nantucket's residents have been infected with Lyme disease at a time when to another. local health department. "On the west coast, in case of natural disasters, there are earthquakes, tornadoes in the center, hurricanes in the south, and in the north-east, our natural disease is Lyme disease," explains Kevin Esvelt. a field called engineering of evolution and ecology at MIT Media Lab.

Everyone associates deer with Lyme disease, but the chain of transmission begins when a teenage tick bites a white-legged mouse carrying the Lyme bacteria. Eliminate the Lyme from the mice and you have come a long way towards solving the problem.

Enter Mice Against Ticks, the Esvelt campaign to achieve this by tinkering with the genetic code of animals. "We want to inherit immunize local mice with white feet," Esvelt said. "The idea is that fewer infected ticks means fewer infected children."

Some mice naturally develop immunity to Lyme disease, just as your body gains immunity when you catch a cold. But this immunity is not passed on to the offspring without the help of science.

This is where Duane Wesemann, immunologist at Harvard Brigham and Women's Hospital intervenes. Once he has isolated the genetic code of Lyme immunity, Wesemann can edit it in the genome of many more mice. These mice will transmit immunity to their offspring. Raise a few hundred thousand of these mice, free them in the wild, wait a few generations, and, in theory, more mice with Lyme. "These mice are expected to be resistant to Lyme disease for decades, and this will lead to fewer infected ticks, which will lead to fewer infected humans," he said. said.

At this point, all of this is theoretical. Although Wesemann is working to isolate Lyme antibodies in wild-type mice, releasing lab-modified mice remains years away.

Oh, and no one has ever made a genetically modified mammal loose in nature before. Doing this will require more than just time. This will require a vote. Most residents of both islands must approve the plan.

Jason Bridges, a parent who owns the Handlebar Cafe on Nantucket, is open to the idea. Ticks and the diseases they carry are an acceptable risk for the moment, he says, but "if it were to get worse, I'd say we're a little screwed up."

Not everyone thinks mixing with nature is the best idea. "My worst fear is that we are going to make a change that affects a whole chain of reaction in this environment," said Danika Conners, herbalist and vocal critic for Mice Against Ticks. "No matter how much they test this, we do not know how it will affect the environment in five years, in 10 years, in 15 years and in 20 years."

Esvelt is sympathetic to such concerns, but he opposes any argument that he plays God. "I do not see how a benevolent god would want us to let our children suffer and die of diseases we could prevent," he said.

Still, he is looking forward to having this conversation, and considers everyone's perspective. "I firmly believe that this type of community decision-making is the only ethical way forward," he said.

Esvelt and Wesemann plan to test their idea by releasing about 1,000 genetically modified mice on a private uninhabited island and, well, see what happens. Wesemann compared it to NASA's preparation for a mission. "They will send something in space, and then they will not be able to recover it," he said. "All preparation and modeling must take place before."

Yet, there is no way to anticipate every possible outcome. But Esvelt believes that the benefits outweigh any risk. "There is always a cost to doing nothing, and we need technology not only to make the world go round, but also to make it better," he said.

Although residents of both islands approve the project, it is still subject to federal review by the Environmental Protection Agency and possibly the Food and Drug Administration. All this to say that it could be at least eight years before the first genetically modified mice rush into the meadows.

CNNMoney (Nantucket, MA) First published on July 27, 2018: 5:30 pm ET