You know what there's not nearly enough of, on this fine planet of ours? Dangerous animals that could wipe us all out in one fell swoop. I guess that's why these sadistic scientists bred extra-large dragonflies, then?
The scientists raised atmospheric oxygen levels to above 30 per cent, which is closer to how the Paleozoic era's environment would've been, supposedly. Once the air was right for breeding, Dr John Vanden Brooks and his team then successfully managed to breed dragonflies with wingspans of roughly 70cm.
Oversized cockroach breeding was also attempted by Dr Vanden Brooks, but thankfully he failed. I don't have to remind you how resilient cockroaches already are, but cockroaches on steroids? Someone give me access to their bomb shelter, and fast! [GSA via The Register via Geekologie]
UPDATE: I heard from Dr Vanden Brooks that while the Paleozoic dragonflies had wingspans reaching up to 70cm in width, his dragonflies are only 15 per cent larger than normal ones. Disappointing, but at least we can sleep tight tonight.