Mosquitoes engineered to pass down genes that would wipe out their species

WTF are you talking about, never heard (*)(*)(*)(*) when there were test tube babies, never heard (*)(*)(*)(*) about people and designer babies... Now this stupid mosquito stuff? really?

Dude, c'mon...

 

Well, in this case they are not trying to eliminate all mosquitos, but just a particular one. We've used the same basic idea before without too much ill consequences (using genetically manipulated insects to lower insect populations).

 

I think that's how we got Lyme Disease...

We shouldn't be trying to manipulate nature...

 

Evidence for the above.

Also, humans are the dominant species on earth because we can manipulate nature in a variety of ways. Even wearing clothes is an example of manipulating nature.

 

I agree with the second bolded option. not the wiping them out

http://www.nature.com/news/mosquito...their-species-1.18974?WT.mc_id=FBK_NatureNews

"Researchers engineered Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes — which spreads malaria across sub-Saharan Africa — to pass on genes that cause infertility in female offspring. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology1, relies on a technology known as a gene drive, and appears two weeks after a US team reported using the same concept to engineer malaria resistance into a different mosquito species2."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme,_New_York

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Project

They call it Lyme disease because it started in Lyme NY...

 

Wiki sites on conspiracies aren't legitimate sources.

That, and it was named after Lyme, Connecticut, not Lyme, New York.

http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/epi/lyme.html

http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3136&q=388506

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme,_Connecticut

 

None of it matters considering it's a biological weapon...

Calling it a conspiracy would be correct but to deny our government isn't developing or researching biological weapons would be ignorant...

I love how people deny what they're told to deny...

 

Makes no sense to develop a biological weapon that is only spread by ticks.

On top of that there is evidence that the Otzi man had Lyme disease over 5000 years ago.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/

 

I never said the intent was to infect ticks, nor did I ever say the purpose was to infect the US public, what I said was Lyme disease is a biologically engineered disease...

Somehow the cat got out of the bag...

There is no evidence to suggest Lyme disease even existed prior to 50 years ago...

If Lyme disease existed prior to 50 years ago it would have been rampant and many would have died from it..

Also, I think AIDS could be potentially a biological weapon gone wrong...

A lot of people want to talk about the industrial military complex, however a lot of people fail to realize that the United States (and pretty much any government with money) researches and develops biological weapons... What's often not discussed is how dangerous that is...

 

I just showed you evidence that it was over 5000 years old. There are also indications that it was present in Germany in the 1880s. The government wouldn't waste time biologically engineering a disease that is only spread by ticks and that requires a non-human mammal reservoir in addition to ticks. Just doesn't make any sense scientifically to do so.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Origin-of-Lyme-Disease.aspx

http://lymediseaseguide.org/lyme-disease-origin

 

Notice they say "similar"???

If they had proof they would have said it, but they don't..

Why ticks? why not? they're parasites that can stick to a human body indefinitely and no one really knows if they have one or not until they check their body - they would be perfect to destroy an enemy by making them sick..... If you ask me ticks would be ideal, however I'm not saying ticks were infected and released with nefarious intent, what I'm saying is that maybe a few got out of the bag..

Trust me ticks would be a perfect biological weapon..

It would be just as good as poisoning your enemies water...

 

You've never had a tick, have you? No way that a human could stand having one "indefinitely." Long enough to infect you, yes, but indefinitely, no way. Every tick I've had has bothered me within hours of it latching on.

Scientists never say anything definitively. It's against the nature of science. Scientists are doubters and skeptics. That said, it did say that the bacteria mutates fairly quickly.

 

Oh I have had ticks, I'm a hunter/fisherman outdoors guy...

I only have a washer in my garage so I can ensure I don't bring bugs into my house...

Well, I don't mean indefinitely, I mean you will eventually will find the little bugger..

I have had them and who knows how long they were on me...

My point stands tho. Why not ticks?

You drop a bunch of diseased ticks on a military unit or area - they're done...

Don't underestimate biological warfare...

 

Smart mosquito net...

New mosquito trap smart enough to keep just the bad bugs
Feb 16, 2017 | WASHINGTON — A smart trap for mosquitoes? A new high-tech version is promising to catch the bloodsuckers while letting friendlier insects escape — and even record the exact weather conditions when different species emerge to bite.

 

Cutting Food Source Leads to Dramatic Drop in Number of Mosquitoes...

Report: Cutting Food Source Leads to Dramatic Drop in Number of Mosquitoes
July 10, 2017 | WASHINGTON — Insecticides, mosquito nets, and disrupting breeding grounds all reduce mosquito populations and slow the spread of malaria. Now, researchers want to take away the insect's food to fight the disease that kills a child every two minutes.

 

I hate mosquitos as much as the next person, but the fault does not lie with the mosquito, but rather the diseases they carry, like malaria and Zika. We should be focusing on eliminating the disease, not the unwilling vector!

Furthermore, mosquitos (specifically the males, the females are the only ones that bite) act as a pollinator of various flowers and subsequently, fruit.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/mosquitoes-pollinate-flowers-61115.html
Mosquitoes also act as a food source for various species of birds, amphibians, and reptiles, so getting rid of them can potentially disrupt the food chain, which I must remind you we humans are a part of!

Eliminating the mosquito is just too risky! We should be focusing our efforts on eliminating the diseases they carry, as they are a more urgent threat!

 

No they get bitten by infected mosquitoes. I spent time in Africa. Anti-malarial meds are not well tolerated in general. Those infected often don't die but they are very sick. And the young are more affected esp with serial infections. The five year mortality for Nigeria was once a bit over 50%. That's not all on malaria but it's a huge part of the equation.

 

Easier to kill the mosquito than to engineer and deliver a vaccine (although one may be available at some point) or the meds for a cure. Malaria is recurrent.

 

Honestly, I would rather we kill off flies.

 

Aussies killin' Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes...

Australian Trial Crushes Numbers of Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes
July 15, 2018 — Mosquitos are one of the deadliest creatures on Earth. In a town in northern Australia, more than 80 percent of the mosquitoes that spread dengue fever have been wiped out in a pioneering tropical trial. Scientists say the results could help global efforts to eradicate the dangerous pest.

 

"Nature will find a way"
Jeff Goldbloom character, Jurassic Park.
And so very true.


Spread the mosquito fish!
Let nature take care of its' own.


Moi

 

Most people think of mosquitoes only as insects that suck blood, but they have another niche in the ecosystem--they pollinate flowers. Male mosquitoes never bite, and the females need the protein in blood only to produce eggs, so the normal food of adult mosquitoes is actually nectar from plants

 

Killing them all is probably a mistake but two trials likely gets them in the 6% range; then reevaluate

 

And these 6% breed more of their kind.

Resistant!​