Britain might willingly surrender itself to domination by mutant rats

British scientists have proposed introducing mutant lab rats into the wild rodent populations tormenting Londoners as a means of pest control, The Telegraph reports. Despite similar schemes leading to Attack of the Giant, Mutant Rats in 99 percent of fictional cases, the real world science involves genetically "editing" rodents so that they simply cannot have female offspring:

The genetically modified lab rats could then be released into the wild, where they would pass their edited genes on to future generations. The so-called "Crispr" technology, which is also being tested with mosquito populations, works even better than toxins, since some rats are already becoming poison-resistant.

Edinburgh University doctoral student Gus McFarlane admitted that while Attack of the Giant, Mutant Rats is far from a sure thing, there could be complications. "One of the biggest risks that we're worried about is it if it were to be deployed, we target an animal and it spreads to a non-targeted individual," McFarlane told The Telegraph. "So you target a rat in New Zealand and it makes its way to Asia where it could have unforeseen ecological consequences. But there are mitigation strategies that we could implement if this were to occur."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up