Free Republic

Escar-whoa! The alarming discovery of giant African snails — which can stretch up to 8 inches long — has sparked concern and quarantines in a Florida county. The state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs confirmed the presence of the mammoth mollusks in Pasco County this week and warned residents to keep their distance. The snails carry the frightfully named rat lungworm parasite that can induce meningitis in humans, officials cautioned. The invasive snails are also capable of ravaging vegetation and are known to dine on more than 500 types of plants. “These snails could be devastating to Florida agriculture...

Genetically modified mosquitoes have been released for the first time in the United States as part of an experiment to combat insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever, yellow fever, and the Zika virus. UK-based biotechnology firm Oxitec, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said it released the mosquitoes in six locations in Monroe County’s Florida Keys: two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key, and three on Vaca Key. It’s part of an effort to help tackle a disease-transmitting invasive mosquito population—the Aedes aegypti mosquito species—that’s responsible for “virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans,” according...