Researchers unleash genophage on...mosquitoes

[Skratt]

Fuck me. Didn't we already try to create a docile super honey bee that made copious amounts of sweet nectar goodness and instead made one of the most aggressive hive insects on the planet? Didn't we put rabbits in Australia to eat some plants when we got tired of trying to spray with weed killer only to have the rabbits decide that other shit was tastier then try to add in another animal that hunted rabbits only to have the same exact result repeated? Haven't we homogenized our crops to a genetic uniformity that might actually be to blame for some of the health problems we are seeing today?

Seriously, stop fucking with nature already. We'll probably create a mosquito that lives 1/10th of the lifespan but creates 10 times the volume of mosquitoes to compensate. Won't that be fun?

Picnic anyone?

 

[Xanadu84]

Awesome. Since it just makes some sterile, it won't even destroy the population. Science rules, and many peoples lives will be saved because of this. Go science.

 

[Baneat]

Seriously, stop fucking with nature already. We'll probably create a mosquito that lives 1/10th of the lifespan but creates 10 times the volume of mosquitoes to compensate. Won't that be fun?

Just try to understand how dangerous malaria is in Africa. If they managed to take away 80% of mosquitos AND avoid serious consequences, hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa would be saved per year. We fucked with food to get us past the 3-billion capacity traditional methods netted us, so fucking with nature is not inherently bad, just has risks and consequences that have to be carefully considered.

 

[-Dragmire-]

This can only be an ill omen. Every time human beings fuck with nature bad things happen.

I don't know about that. Using that phrase broadly, one could say all medicine and surgery was fucking with nature because it's saving people who 'should'(if not for medicine/surgery/etc..) have died.

Granted, I say this while scratching myself from all the mosquito bites I'm getting because I can't find the fucker in my room.

I support this research for purely selfish reasons.

Ok, that wasn't what I meant. When I said "fuck with nature" I meant like messing around with ecosystems and stuff.

yeah, I probably stretched your words too far, but still, there are man made ecosystems that do good for the environment.

I can't really comment on our effect on ecosystems as a result of genetics, but some species do way too well when introduced to a new environment and we need a way to reduce their numbers without affecting anything else and genetic mutation seems like a good way to do that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_ant

Spoiler: important bits from the link

Argentine ant

Distribution

The native range of Argentine ants is limited to around major waterways in the lowland areas of the Parana River drainage; They have recently spread into parts of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The species has become established in at least 15 countries throughout the world, on six continents as well as many oceanic islands.


Global "mega-colony"

According to research published in Insectes Sociaux in 2009, it was discovered that ants from three Argentine ant supercolonies in America, Europe, and Japan, that were previously thought to be separate, were in fact most likely to be genetically related. The three colonies in question were one in Europe, stretching 6,000 km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, the "Californian large" colony, stretching 900 km (560 miles) along the coast of California, and a third on the west coast of Japan.

Based on a similarity in the chemical profile of hydrocarbons on the cuticles of the ants from each colony, and on the ants non-aggressive and grooming behaviour when interacting, compared to their behaviour when mixing with ants from other super-colonies from the coast of Catalonia in Spain and from Kobe in Japan, researchers concluded that the three colonies studied actually represented a single global super-colony.

The researchers stated that "enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society", and had probably been spread and maintained by human travel.

Impact

The ants are ranked among the world's 100 worst animal invaders. In its introduced range, the Argentine ant often displaces most or all native ants. This can, in turn, imperil other species in the ecosystem, such as native plants that depend on native ants for seed dispersal, or lizards that depend on native ants for food. For example, the recent severe decline in coastal horned lizards in southern California is closely tied to Argentine ants displacing native ant species on which the lizards feed.

I'm not saying it's the solution to everything but sometimes nature might need some genetic pruning.

Every year I hear mosquito populations are spiking so I figure they might need to be toned down in number and as odd as it sounds, this is probably the most environmentally friendly way to do it, though I think they should aim for a 30% reduction though, just tone them down to what used to be considered the norm.

 

[Amondren]

This could fuck with nature a bit but...I hate mosquitoes.

 

[cthulhumythos]

What right do we have to wipe something out because we dont like it?

Sure, mozzies kill a fair few people every year, but that's nature's population control. We already have far too many people in this world and yet we keep breeding without thought to lessening our impact on the environment. And now we are going to royaly fuck with it?

We have no right to arbitrarily kill something simply because we dont like it.

People die.

It's nature.

Get over it.

we're humans

we murder shit we don't like

get over it.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

This is a terrible idea, and could wipe out humanity in a chain reaction of devas - nah, go for it, and can we wipe out wasps and hornets next please?

Not bees of course, they have to kamikaze to attack humans, so it's your own damn fault if they attack.

 

[CthulhuMessiah]

Just as long as this doesn't bite this in the ass later.

 

[icame]

This would need heavy duty testing to make sure it did not affect anything besides its intended target. Besides, why are we screwing with nature? 90% of the time that's not a good idea..

 

[Shakomaru]

At the moment- WHAT AM I SAYING? I always hate those bloodsucking annoyances! DESTROY ALL OF THEM! USE THE FREAKING CHTHONIC DESTROYER!

 

[6_Qubed]

Know who we kill next? Gnats. Seriously, fuck gnats. There's too damn many of them.

 

[DustyDrB]

Mosquitoes never seem to bother me much for some reason. I assume it's something in (or something that's not in) my diet. I did swallow one by accident while charging after a bunt at third base in high school. Bastard messed up a gold glove play.

 

[jpoon]

I don't get how that would work at all, aren't they sterile? How do they breed in the first place? Wouldn't they just go out there bite some people, hang out for a while....not reproduce, then die?!

Edit: Finished reading the article...Very cool! When will this be coming stateside?!

 

[Jegsimmons]

one hand mosquitos cause death and are annoying and can hender progress
on the other it could fuck up the ecosystem....
....
....
fuck em!!! KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vrex360]

You fools!!

Now the only ones that will be left to breed will be the bigger and stronger members of the species! In a few years time, from the ashes of their former population, a new strain of super mosquito will rise up to reclaim the planet Earth in their own name!!

Save us from the horrible monsters we accidentally created and were foolish enough to think we could control!!

But seriously, I don't like the idea of messing with nature. For all we know mosquitos have an important role in the ecosystem that we haven't seen yet, and changing that could cause major problems for the ecosystem as a result.
Sure they are annoying, but they COULD be valuable... unlike those freeloading Pandas.

 

[Arctarus'sCookie]

While this is interesting. I have the strangest feeling that this is going to be stolen and modified to affect humans which is probably a bad idea altogether, but there may be some good from it...

 

[Gavmando]

What right do we have to wipe something out because we dont like it?

Sure, mozzies kill a fair few people every year, but that's nature's population control. We already have far too many people in this world and yet we keep breeding without thought to lessening our impact on the environment. And now we are going to royaly fuck with it?

We have no right to arbitrarily kill something simply because we dont like it.

People die.

It's nature.

Get over it.

we're humans

we murder shit we don't like

get over it.

I have nothing but pitty for you.

 

[jpoon]

What right do we have to wipe something out because we dont like it?

Sure, mozzies kill a fair few people every year, but that's nature's population control. We already have far too many people in this world and yet we keep breeding without thought to lessening our impact on the environment. And now we are going to royaly fuck with it?

We have no right to arbitrarily kill something simply because we dont like it.

People die.

It's nature.

Get over it.

we're humans

we murder shit we don't like

get over it.

I have nothing but pitty for you.

I'm pretty sure if there were a few compelling reasons to keep the little shits around the scientists that are debating this would reconsider. I would be more than happy to know that they are out of the foodchain and since there are so many other critters that are far less threatening waiting to take their place, there are few reasons to object.

I say do it....FOR SCIENCE!

 

[DementedSheep]

Well my first thought was misquotes are largely responsible for the spread of certain diseases resulting in allot of deaths. This could be very good to keep the population under wraps and stop the spread.

My second thought was damn I hope this does not bite us in the ass as screwing with nature often dose.

 

[Antari]

Let's just hope that in the future, we don't need mosquitoes to fight the Rachni

Hmm, let's hope this doesn't cause any unforeseeable environmental problems.

Ya because we know exactly what will happen if we all but eliminate an insect thats been around for over 100 million years, for the most part unchanged. Nope we have nothing to worry about, we're saving the planet right?