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Fighting Mosquitoes With GM Mosquitoes
doug141 writes "Scientists are releasing genetically modified male mosquitoes that produce flightless female offspring. The male offspring go on to wipe out another generation of females. This is similar to the way screwworms were eradicated in the U.S., except with nature itself making more of the modified males. Field trials are already underway."
Or maybe not. Actually I would be more in favor of releasing wave after wave of bats. Fruit bats preferably, they're cute!
Since clearly a lot of people didn't read the article or the link in the article that directly addresses this...
I found this on the Internet.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html
[[Ecology: A world without mosquitoes
Eradicating any organism would have serious consequences for ecosystems — wouldn't it? Not when it comes to mosquitoes, finds Janet Fang.]]
It's a new disease, so I expect you haven't heard of it: Malaria.
malaria accounts for 2% of deaths worldwide. most of which are children.
and secondly:RTFuckingA. the discuss that specific topic.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"Folks, the mosquito could get extinct in a few years. Scary indeed."
Well, A mosquito species could be come extinct. According to TFA, Aedes aegypti to be exact. This particular mosquito can carry several major human pathogens including dengue hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, and chickungunya, which are all viral diseases. Ae. aegypti originated in Africa but is now found throughout tropical and subtropical regions including the USA, where it used to be in only Florida and the southeast but has since spread north to New York and Illinois. Especially alarming is the fact that there have been outbreaks of dengue recently (in 2010 at least) in Florida.
Eradication of Ae. aegypti might not necessarily be that big of a deal environmentally. While mosquitoes are an important part of the diet of many predators, there are over 40 genera comprising thousands of species of mosquitoes. Any reasonably sized chunk of land probably has more than one species of mosquito, for example here in Wisconsin we have not less than 58 species. Even tiny Rhode Island is home to at least 46 mosquito species!
The immediate side effect is that there will not be any mosquitoes.
No serious negative repercussions are known to exist for such an event beyond that the diet of certain types of insect predators would be affected (fortunately for such predators, their diet is not exclusively dependent on the species of mosquito that this concept intends to render extinct). The net effect upon mankind should be positive, other than possibly causing companies that make mosquito repellent to possibly go out of business.
But seriously.... did you *NEED* somebody to have to spell that all out for you? They're mosquitoes, for crying out loud... and not some vital part of the food chain on which we ourselves are part of.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Male mosquitoes feed on nectar from flowers, in the lab we feed them sugar water. Female mosquitoes on the other hand require a blood meal for the proper development of their eggs. Mosquitoes live in the water as free swimming larvae, which will develop into similarly free-swimming pupae. When development is complete, the pupae floats to the water surface and the adult mosquito emerges. The adult mosquito stands on the water surface while its new exoskeleton and wings dry and harden. The adult mosquito can't swim, and while it can walk on water it only does so when emerging from the pupae and for some species when depositing eggs. It minimizes water walking in both cases and flies away as soon as possible. That's what makes this so cool. The female, and only the female mosquito, is stuck on the water unable to fly and practically motionless. It's a free lunch to any mosquito-eating predator around. The males on the other hand are free to escape and then free to mate and pass that gene on to their offspring--again fatal to their daughters, and no harm to their sons, who repeat the cycle.