Mutant Mosquitoes: Genetically Engineered Aedes aegypti to Mate with Females (VIDEO)

Mutant mosquitoes are coming--well, in Malaysia, that is, and though the definition of mutant typically has a negative ring to it, fortunately, it looks like these guys might be providing some much needed relief for the area.

According to reports, Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes into a forest in the first experiment of its kind in Asia that is aimed at curbing dengue fever.

Dengue fever, also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

Researchers' hope is that a field test may pave the way for the official use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes that will mate will females and produce offspring with shorter lives to curtail the population.

The female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes get a negative reputation as they are the only ones who can spread the fever, which is reported to have killed 134 people in Malaysia last year.

With high hopes for the projects, general criticism of the field test is circulating. Residents of the community may not want to be treated as guinea pigs.

Some environmental groups, such as Friends from the Earth, have criticized those working on the project for not being "open and honest with local communities about the possible risks its technology poses." Helen Wallace of GeneWatch uk even went as far as to say that these companies are treating "an overseas territory as a private lab."

For now, the long-term effects of the study are still unknown.

Want to find out more about the mosquitoes? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.