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Mosquitoes Genetically Modified To Crash Species That Spreads Malaria (npr.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the genetically-modified dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that a controversial new kind of genetic engineering can rapidly spread a self-destructive genetic modification through a complex species. The scientists used the revolutionary gene-editing tool known as CRISPR to engineer mosquitoes with a "gene drive," which rapidly transmitted a sterilizing mutation through other members of the mosquito's species. After mosquitoes carrying the mutation were released into cages filled with unmodified mosquitoes in a high-security basement laboratory in London, virtually all of the insects were wiped out, according to a report in Nature Biotechnology. The mosquitoes were created in the hopes of using them as a potent new weapon in the long, frustrating fight against malaria. Malaria remains one of the world's deadliest diseases, killing more than 400,000 people every year, mostly children younger than 5 years old. What's encouraging is that the mosquitos reportedly did not appear to further mutate in a way that would diminish the effectiveness of the engineered mutation. "But the researchers stressed that many years of additional research are needed to further test the safety and effectiveness of the approach before anyone attempts to release these mosquitos or any other organisms created this way into the wild," reports NPR.

7 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Like hitler but mosquitos instead of Jews by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I am not comfortable with this, and feel that the mosquitos arenâ(TM)t just diesease control, but instead a test to rid the world of what the elites consider undesirables.

    1. Re: Like hitler but mosquitos instead of Jews by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      I think it's safe to assume the scientists behind this are genuinely interested in saving lives. I think it's also safe to say that the technology, once developed, will be repurposed by someone else (maybe neo-Nazis) to destroy lives.

      Neo-nazis?

      Given the world's history, it's more likely to be corrupted by totalitarian leftist (but I repeat myself...) Communists/Socialists in the name of "progress".

  2. Caution by techdolphin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While I hate mosquitoes, I would suggest caution. Mosquitoes are important in the food chain. If one species of mosquitoes are wiped out, would other insects fill the void? We need to think carefully about the ramifications of this. Of course, reducing the damage and death caused by malaria would be highly beneficial.

    1. Re: Caution by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's not that simple. There is a huge insects decline everywhere, mostly in developed countries, except mosquitoes (they don't rely much on other insects, and love human proximity). In countries where malaria is a problem, the idea is to get rid of only one (maybe a couple of) mosquito breed(s), the ones that transmit the disease. That shouldn't have an important impact on the ecosystem there.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re: Caution by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For example in Communist China, Mao encouraged everyone to wipe out sparrows

      This is mostly a myth. Mao did indeed order that, but the campaign to "wipe out" the sparrows mostly involved banging pots and waving flags. The theory was that the sparrows would be so frightened that they would die of heart attacks. Does that sound plausible to you? Only a negligible number of sparrows were killed, and although there was a famine, it had nothing to do with sparrows.

    3. Re: Caution by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Mosquitoes are not a natural part of many food chains. For instance, before the arrival of Europeans, there were no mosquitoes in Hawaii. Same for many other islands in Polynesia.

      If the mosquitoes in Hawaii were wiped out, it would be restoring the food chain to its more natural state, and would likely help native species against invaders.

  3. RIDICULOUS LYING FAGGOT BILL LIES ONCE MORE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "To accomplish this task, Chinese citizens were mobilized in massive numbers to eradicate the birds by forcing them to fly until they fell from exhaustion. The Chinese people took to the streets clanging their pots and pans or beating drums to terrorize the birds and prevent them from landing. Nests were torn down, eggs were broken, chicks killed, and sparrows shot down from the sky. Experts estimate that hundreds of millions of sparrows were killed as part of the campaign."

    https://io9.gizmodo.com/5927112/chinas-worst-self-inflicted-disaster-the-campaign-to-wipe-out-the-common-sparrow

    http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20061130_1.htm