Morning Briefing

Pacific Standard magazine examines efforts by researchers around the globe to biologically modify bugs to fight human diseases, such as dengue fever. "Biologically altering bugs isn't entirely new; it's been done for nearly half a century to protect crops. ... It's only recently, however, that scientists have begun experimenting with using this technology to combat human diseases," the magazine writes, adding, "If they succeed, they could create an entirely new way of stopping not only dengue but other insect-borne scourges, such as yellow fever, West Nile virus, and malaria. And stopping these diseases has never been more urgent."