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Australian Experiment Wipes Out Over 80% of Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes (cnn.com)

schwit1 quotes CNN: In an experiment with global implications, Australian scientists have successfully wiped out more than 80% of disease-carrying mosquitoes in trial locations across north Queensland.

The experiment, conducted by scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and James Cook University (JCU), targeted Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread deadly diseases such as dengue fever and Zika. In JCU laboratories, researchers bred almost 20 million mosquitoes, infecting males with bacteria that made them sterile. Then, last summer, they released over three million of them in three towns on the Cassowary Coast.

The sterile male mosquitoes didn't bite or spread disease, but when they mated with wild females, the resulting eggs didn't hatch, and the population crashed.

5 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Works for people too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The sterile male mosquitoes didn't bite or spread disease, but when they mated with wild females, the resulting eggs didn't hatch, and the population crashed.

    A secret organization I cannot name is trying the same thing right now, in western countries we're releasing a bunch of liberal males into the populace - They just yell a lot and while not sterile, are so unpleasant they make breeding pretty much impossible so the result is the same - population crashing.

    It's working far better than we had hoped!

    1. Re:Works for people too by John+Da'+Baddest · · Score: 3, Funny

      I thought it was the other way around. Fox News replaces Fux News pornography, then suddenly all the new-Republican non-trophy wives can look up to Sarah Sanders for inspiration how to be servile.

  2. Next Year' Headline: by Calydor · · Score: 1, Funny

    Australian Scientists Baffled As Small Bird Populations Crash; Climate Change Blamed.

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    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  3. Re:Nature finds a way by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Funny

    completly... mosquito's are food and this just destroy's food

    The mosquito population seems to be doing just fine. Why look, there's two of them right there hovering over my screen, right now! Oh, wait, those aren't small bugs, those are erroneous, misplaced apostrophes. If only we could invent a bacteria that would kill off the use of the possessive form when people actually mean to use the plural form. It would make their, "Here, I'm informed and intelligent - let me tell you why you're wrong on this topic!" scolds feel a lot more credible.

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    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  4. I'm offended by the mention of "wild females" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The term "wild females" is sexist and paints an unfavourable image of Australian women. I demand this study be thrown out, all paper copies destroyed, all backups erased and all the scientists who worked on it should lose their jobs. This is unacceptable behaviour in the #MeToo age.