Mosquitoes are a choice: the technology to eradicate mosquito-borne disease already exists
7 days ago by inari to c/technology
Ok. You can take decades if you have a systematic plan with data collection, time lines, expanded test beds, and reviews of emerging relevant science. But sitting on your hands for 15yrs isn't very productive.
People have been more than happy to do this with the food we eat under accelerated time lines (I'm not defending that, but it's not like there isn't precedent for genetic meddling at scale.
they did mention doing harmonization studies, which is my biggest worry: cascading ecological effects.
the impetus can’t be “oh well they haven’t done the full studies so i guess we just full send and see what happens”.
These techniques are targeted at individual species, not all mosquitoes, and the species in question are invasive species. If it was targeting native mosquitoes your comment would make more sense, but in this case the ecological effects should be neutral to positive.
Careful. Targeted bacteriological or viral methods can adapt once out in the open. What you ultimately cause may not be what was intended. What other creatures share traits that might be susceptible? Let's not pretend we've genomapped and understood everything out there.
Also mosquitos and their larvae are food for parts of the food web. If they are gone, what starves?
Unintended consequences are a real risk. Careful study should be required.
There's a large difference between 15 years of science to make sure something doesn't do more harm than it prevents, and taking a decade before someone even declares themselves as responsible for evaluating anything.
The technology to eradicate homelessness, hunger, war, climate change, and Cap’n Crunch cereal all exist too, but I don’t see anyone addressing those either.
To even suggest someone commits violence against a wholesome cereal whose sole purpose is to rip up the mouths of young children is pure blasphemy.
Can someone report this guy!? It looks like we may have another Cereal Killer on the loose. /s
Oops All Genocide
A system to kill a fuck ton with lasers has existed for decades, but a patent troll is sitting on it.
China is releasing one this year.
Article says it kills slow moving flying insects... Worried this could also kill fireflies
Yeah I doubt any anti bug laser will stop to identify the type of bug.
CMS to AAW AUTO!
so yeah. genociding species tends not to end well. That being said we actually just need to eliminate the disease spreading mosquitos and don't need to get rid of them all so. maybe.
These technologies are pretty much unable to completely genocide mosquitos unless deployed worldwide in an massive effort, which noone wants to actually do - they are really only problematic in areas where mosquitos and blood-borne diseases which get transmitted by them happen to coexist.
no one
FTFY
They eat other things as well. Supposedly mosquitoes are pretty much the only living thing that's completely useless, and can be eradicated with no ill effects.
If I recall correctly mosquito larve are incredible water filters and are responsible for maintaining water quality in many types of wetlands.
Only like 3 species out of the something of 3500 mosquito species drink human blood/ carry diesease this way, and they only do this during the females pregnancy not as a primary food source.
And of those 3 species, I think one makes up the majority of mosquitos that are found worldwide and this is the one that would be targeted
A lot of technology to do a lot of cool shit already exists, we just refuse to use them
elephant mosquitoes, the big mosquitoes you see arnt blood suckers, thier larva hunts the mosquitoe larvae that does suck blood
@lemmy.world
go to feed...
@lemmy.world
go to feed...
this is such a reductionist view.
it should absolutely take decades to make a sweeping decision to fundamentally alter an ecosystem. nobody likes disease or even getting a random bite. i grew up in the swamps of the US, i know. but we should absolutely know what we’re doing to release a genetically engineered or bacterial sterilizing agent into a naturally evolved ecosystem.
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