Fighting Mosquitoes With Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

People have such strong feelings about actions taken on the other side of the planet by people protecting their lives and livelihoods.

And by people I mean environmentalists. It's not your fish, its not your tree, its not your jungle, and it's certainly not your deadly horde of insects. Although keeping a bunch of mosquitoes as "pets" and threatening to sue anyone who releases GM murder on them might be an effective way to ensure millions more die from mosquitoes (killing humans, the green way). Then again, everyone in mosquito range should be suing you for doing that.

As far as the science goes, this is a really elegant solution. It shouldn't negatively impact other species via breeding, and assuming there isn't something fluffy and cute that eats only mosquitoes in the area only the craziest tree huggers should complain.

Or dying of the yellow fever or w/e else they give you? Very noble of you.

However, that isn't what I meant.
I meant to say that even now, as we speak, the people in Africa are doing their best to eradicate these deadly insects. They use whatever poisons they can. They drain or dry up swampy land. They do any number of things that have a far bigger effect on the environment than a clean excision of just A.aegypti.

But you don't see all the people who are outraged at the method described in this paper, standing there with signs "save Aedes aegypti!"

Maybe because the locals would tear them limb from limb. Maybe because they'd rather not catch any nasty bloodborne mosquito-transmitted disease. And maybe just because all those methods are "normal" whereas "genetic" is "abomination".

True they are killing some but were talking about the population here this genetic thing would spread the reason it didn't on their island test because it was just that an island you put this in Africa all it takes is for a few males to hitch a ride somewhere else.

People think the way you do because they are only thinking how this affects us when you say mosquito people automatically think blood suck spreader of illness. They don't think pollinator of plants a basic part of the food chain.

True they are killing some but were talking about the population here this genetic thing would spread the reason it didn't on their island test because it was just that an island you put this in Africa all it takes is for a few males to hitch a ride somewhere else.

People think the way you do because they are only thinking how this affects us when you say mosquito people automatically think blood suck spreader of illness. They don't think pollinator of plants a basic part of the food chain.

You don't get it, do you.
DDT kills some mosquitos... and also other insects, alternative pollinators of those plants you're worrying about. And every bird and rodent and reptile that eats the poisoned insects. And every predator that eats those small animals. And so on. The poison doesn't affect the food chain in hypothetical ways as you describe (and which might never come to pass: some other insect which was competing for the same pollen will breed like crazy, the birds will eat it, equilibrium restored), it's proven to be directly deadly.

And I don't have to tell you what happens if a swamp is drained... that's a habitat and all its denizens, gone.

So yeah, the methods used today are far more destructive of the environment.
The one in the OP is actually an improvement.

While I find them annoying, I'm perfectly fine living with them.

Nice try, though.

It's not mosquitoes in first world countries that's the problem, we have the health care infrastructure to deal with diseases. It's in third world countries like the ones in Africa that have the problem, and I think this is a great way to apply genetics to solve real life problems. Plus, to those saying that this will affect the ecosystem negatively, predators of mosquitoes will just find other prey.

Tons of money is spent on mosquito nets, insecticides, and other preventative measures, but if theres a route to eliminate the problem at the source, I don't see why it shouldn't be taken. Especially if it's this easy to implement. It's not like the modified mosquitoes are going to mutate and turn gigantic and take over the world.

predators of mosquitoes will just find other prey.

Be careful with those things. Remember dodos back in the day? Well, they ate some seeds from huge trees in their island. By eating the seed, digesting it, and crapping it out, the seed germinates. No other way. Scientists tried one way or the other until they decided to emulate a dodo with a turkey. And it made a beautiful sprout out of the turd. That means that those trees will no longer breed. And in some time, the trees currently there will die. And won't produce more fruits. And won't be able to host birds in them. And of course, many other unforseen consequences like that one.

It's not as easy as "The animals will figure it out"

You don't get it, do you.
DDT kills some mosquitos... and also other insects, alternative pollinators of those plants you're worrying about. And every bird and rodent and reptile that eats the poisoned insects. And every predator that eats those small animals. And so on. The poison doesn't affect the food chain in hypothetical ways as you describe (and which might never come to pass: some other insect which was competing for the same pollen will breed like crazy, the birds will eat it, equilibrium restored), it's proven to be directly deadly.

And I don't have to tell you what happens if a swamp is drained... that's a habitat and all its denizens, gone.

So yeah, the methods used today are far more destructive of the environment.
The one in the OP is actually an improvement.

Difference between that and this THIS HAS THE ABILITY TO SPREAD. NOT LOCALIZE IN A SINGLE AREA. Poison only affects the immediate area then animals that eat it tend to die before they are ably to make it a long distance. This however is genetic meaning as long as a single mutated male remains this wont go away and wont be able to be stopped.

Your example is a bad thing that's happening but we have some control to stop. This once introduced cannot be stopped this is the worst situation.

just so you know some plants only have one type of incest to pollinate them most flowers adapt to attract certain bugs to pollinate them an example would be a yellow flower attracting a bee the yellow color is what cause the bee to go to it.

@alloy yes you have it spot on. It's a little thing we like to call symbiosis.

But mosquito aren't dodo birds, or trees, or whatever.

They're little flying insects that make up less than 1% of any of their prey's diets. They pollinate very few plants, and none that aren't pollinated by other creatures already.

In essence, they're the animal kingdom's food stamps with a death mission.

Can we exterminate all the fleas in the world next?

But mosquito aren't dodo birds, or trees, or whatever.

They're little flying insects that make up less than 1% of any of their prey's diets. They pollinate very few plants, and none that aren't pollinated by other creatures already.

In essence, they're the animal kingdom's food stamps with a death mission.

Man, I sure am going to miss the bats around my area.

Man, I sure am going to miss the bats around my area.

...Bats eat a lot of things.

...Bats eat a lot of things.

Mosquitoes contribute to a large portion of many bats' diets.

Mosquitoes contribute to a large portion of many bats' diets.

They indiscriminately eat many insects...

Man, I sure am going to miss the bats around my area.

The mosquitos around your area are not Aedes Aegypti.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mosquito_genera

They indiscriminately eat many insects...

And that's why they'd basically exterminate the other insects by just, you know, eating. Because the ammount of mosquitoes they'd have eaten is going to go towards the other insects-actually no, only flying insects. Bats can't start a flight from the ground, so ground hunting is out of the question until they evolve in a few thousand years. So what solution then? Kill bats?

And that's why they'd basically exterminate the other insects by just, you know, eating. Because the ammount of mosquitoes they'd have eaten is going to go towards the other insects-actually no, only flying insects. Bats can't start a flight from the ground, so ground hunting is out of the question until they evolve in a few thousand years. So what solution then? Kill bats?

I don't want to talk about scary creatures anymore because the thought of all this ecological chaining is making my noggin ache.

The number of species that have gone extinct undoubtedly outnumbers the species currently on the planet. There were ripple effects in all of those extinctions, some positive for other species some negative. What we're talking about here is literally the most damaging species to humanity. If it's not okay to wipe this out for our sake, its not okay to wipe anything out.

But what makes something dying out naturally any qualitatively better than it being killed off by humans? Some kind of weird communal guilt environmentalists seem to feel for every other member of their erstwhile race? The idea that nature has to "run its course"? That's absurd, by merely existing we interact with nature. Nature arbitrarily murders species all the time, and it's not for some glorious sacred holy balance that a weird anthropomorphization of the planet "wants." It happens because a species is outcompeted for food, is particularly tasty as food, or in this case, when the dominant species on the planet finds an extremely convenient solution to ending its overwhelmingly negative effects.

For once a species can die to benefit us. There is no consequence to wiping out these mosquitoes, forseen or unforseen, that is worse than the status quo.

For once a species can die to benefit us. There is no consequence to wiping out these mosquitoes, forseen or unforseen, that is worse than the status quo.

i can't even comment on this quote...

Man you kids against this are quite ignorant of the scenario aren't ya? It's one type of mosquito that specifically carries these virus'. It isn't the whole population of mosquitos.

Instead of spouting nonsense about ecosystems you guys should attempt to look up how the ecosystem relates to specific mosquito, which is absolutely nothing. It should be common knowledge they breed specifically in urban enviroments and thus have no impact on the natural ecosystem. >_>;

Instead of getting rid of the mosquito get rid of the malaria virus like we've done in most modern countries and yea the mosquito that live in North America, Europe all those places can transmits malaria the solution was we got rid of the malaria virus itself.

Exodus what makes them dying out naturally different is that they couldn't adapt to the changing environments and thus died out on their own clearly this species of mosquito is quite successful and therefore we can't just get rid of it. Lets go after the source not the vector.

Do you know how we get rid of virus'? We isolate and kill it through the ones infected. You can not isolate and kill mosquitos who carry it, there's too many and extremely contagious considering their method of feeding.

Rather than arguing the obvious, most convenient*, neutral method, that obviously has been considered, how about argue the negative consequences of obliterating a species that is designed to specifically feed off of us?