MIT Media Lab’s Kevin Esvelt Mice Against Ticks, a community-guided effort to stop Lyme disease at its source, using engineered mice to block transmission

On September 21, 2025, 60 Minutes aired a feature segment on groundbreaking research from the MIT Media Lab’s Sculpting Evolution group, led by Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Kevin Esvelt. The story spotlighted Mice Against Ticks, an ambitious project on Nantucket aimed at reducing Lyme disease by engineering wild white-footed mice to be immune to the infection. Lyme has long plagued the island, where 15% of residents are affected, making it a natural testing ground for innovation.

Working with Tufts epidemiologist Sam Telford, Esvelt’s team uses CRISPR gene editing to insert antibodies directly into mouse DNA. Unlike traditional vaccines, this “heritable immunization” passes immunity from one generation to the next, effectively accelerating evolution. If successful, ticks feeding on the engineered mice will no longer carry Lyme bacteria, breaking the cycle of transmission.

But what sets this project apart is its alignment with the MIT Media Lab’s ethos of responsible innovation. Even before beginning their work in the lab, the research team engaged Nantucket residents—and has since returned for more than 10 public meetings—to keep the community well informed, constantly engaged, and to ensure that any solution reflects their needs and values. The next step may be a controlled field trial on a private island.

As Esvelt emphasizes, the science is only part of the story. This technology affects everyone, he says, so everyone deserves a say in how it’s developed. "[It's] hard for individuals to opt out. And I think that means we need to do the science differently because we need to ensure that people have a voice, early enough, to actually influence the direction that the technology is developed."