Brazil is mounting a new attack against the dangerous Zika virus with plans to sterilize male mosquitoes with gamma radiation, according to the Guardian. The plan is to breed male mosquitoes then use the gamma rays on the bred male mosquitoes, sterilizing them. The sterile males will then be sent into specified areas to mate with females that will, of course, not lay fruitful eggs.
The device the country will use is called an irradiator. Apparently it has worked before, working its scientific magic on the fruit fly population on the island of Madeira in Portugal, according to Fox News.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it will be sending the device when it gets the approval.
"It's a birth control method, the equivalent of family planning for humans," said molecular biologist Kostas Bourtzis with the IAEA.
Up to 12 million insects will be bred for Brazil's plan, according to Newser.
Currently, there is no cure or vaccine available for the virus, and with the Olympic games right around the corner and thousands of Zika-related birth defects, there is a sense of urgency to solve the problem.
