Genetically Altered Mosquito to Wipe Out Mosquito Population

I've seen a few threads on Genetically altered mosquitos like here
www.abovetopsecret.com...

In the thread above it talks about genetically altering mosquitos to attack there young. Recently an American Scientist named Anthony James from UC Irvine has made and modified genes affect only the female mosquitoes, rendering them flightless. The larvae hatch on the water, and the females are unable to leave, rendering them harmless to humans ( as females are the only ones that bite us) and leaving them to die. The males are unaffected, so they mature normally, then mate with other females to pass the genetic modification on.

It's an extremely effective way of triggering a mosquito population crash - James and his colleagues have proven in cage-based testing in Mexico that a sufficient number of genetically hacked males can completely decimate a mosquito population within a few months.



www.gizmag.com...

So what do you guys think of this. This is really messing with nature and might have a adverse effect on the ecosystem. What if mosquitos-X gets eaten by a bird or bat and the gene is transfered? I would say if that happend it would be TEOTWAWKI. The things that science can do is getting scary

about time we clean up where nature went wrong. i may have too much anger built up though. im from bayou, swamp land and i fight mosquitos off almost all year. They're just starting to die down a little

Humans deserve to go extinct

When bats eat the genetically modified males, how will that affect the bats? Bats are well known for eating thousands of mosquitos in a night. Wipe out the bats? This could trigger an imbalance of unintended consequences because of such unforeseen circumstances. Cut a blade of grass and you shake the Universe.

There was a sonic mosquito larve bursting device that never seemed to get traction.

reply to post by camaro68ss


Sounds sketchy to me, Next thing will be mosquito warfare. Like little flying syringes injecting cyanide into there unsupecting victims. Just saying if this tech gets into the wrong hands your house cat will be possesed by the devil.
" Fighting fire with fire only leaves you with ashes "

I hate mosquitos with a passion. Those little buzzing, biting critters just drive me insane and are one reason why I'll do as much as I can to stay in relatively dry areas of the world and away from anyplace that breeds them in huge numbers. I wish they would all die.

However, I'm sure that if the mosquito population was significantly decreased by some clever method, it would cause a chain reaction that would end up destroying large swaths of life on Earth, and probably harm humanity (including me) in some horrible way. It's always these little bugs that just seem to be an annoyance that end up being the key to sustaining life as we know it.

So I'm torn.

Great, now were deciding to end a naturally selected creature that has come from the great cosmos as have we. Who the hell do we think we are. We are the most arrogant species I know of on this planet. We are all linked, every little bug to the biggest whale.


Just so sad we would even think of this idea.

yes i think that messing about with nature could have serious effects on our planet .

it is said that if we wiped out wasps , our apple trees would no longer reproduce
i don't know if this is true or not. but does not every insect have an effect on its enviroment ? .

surely mother nature provides a nicely balanced system and we should not tamper with fine tuned machine .

Originally posted by tkwasny
When bats eat the genetically modified males, how will that affect the bats? Bats are well known for eating thousands of mosquitos in a night. Wipe out the bats? This could trigger an imbalance of unintended consequences because of such unforeseen circumstances. Cut a blade of grass and you shake the Universe.

There was a sonic mosquito larve bursting device that never seemed to get traction.

edit on 12-12-2011 by tkwasny because: Addition

What about when all the Mosquitos are gone ? How will that affect the bats ? Being a staple part of the diet
How do bats affect the Eco system ? What would happen if a drop in bat numbers happened due to a drop in food supply ?
This is just a small piece of an ecosystems make up
What else would a drop in Mosquitos affect, the larva for example on marine life ? And that's repercussions

When will we learn to stop screwing with nature

This is extremely bad. Mosquitos provide food for an enormous number of birds, other insects, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. Messing with the bottom of the food chain like this can only end in disaster. The ecological chaos this will cause is going to deal yet another crippling blow to this planet's ecosystem. If done on a massive scale, this ranks up there with the huge bee die off we are still experiencing, and will surely cause even more species extinction. Sure, they are a pain in the ass, but they exist for a reason and serve an important role in the food chain.

What a great day. First I learn that the black rhino is now extinct in the wild, and now people want to exterminate this important food species. The human species is really picking up the pace toward that self-elimination finish line, aren't we?

More self-loathing being projected onto another species vital to the planet's well-being.

Good job humans!

Every time man interferes with nature...it backfires on them. Prime example. Here in the South, Kudzu was introduced during the depression as a make work program, and for erosion control. Kudzu is a Japanese vine that is incredibly invasive, and you can't kill the damn stuff.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.

-------------------------

So fast forward to now....

The problem is that it just grows too well! The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

While they help prevent erosion, the vines can also destroy valuable forests by preventing trees from getting sunlight. This problem led Dr. James H. Miller of the U.S. Forest Service in Auburn, Alabama to research methods for killing kudzu. In eighteen years of research, he has found that one herbicide actually makes kudzu grow better while many have little effect. Miller recommends repeated herbicide treatments for at least four years, but some kudzu plants may take as long as ten years to kill, even with the most effective herbicideswww.maxshores.com...

I hate the pesky little blood suckers....but this is dangerous territory when species are genetically modified.....Does Monsanto ring a bell....

reply to post by camaro68ss


I despise mosquitos, and parasites in general.

I will rejoice at their total annihilation.

Ticks and sand (biting) flies can join them in oblivion, too.

Yes, this is horrific. I can't believe any scientists would be so stupid as to think this is a good idea. Mosquitoes are an important food supply for lots of things.

It's more likely, they are monkeying around with genetic mods on mosquitoes to make a weapon out of them, as in spread dengue and malaria like mad in targeted regions.

Because, strangely enough, the only creature who's disappearance would only positively impact the whole biosphere of Earth, would be US.

say good by to the trout and the frogs and the dragon flies and everything else that eats mozzies
Not wise to effe with Mother nature

Let's do away with all medicine, clothing, air conditioning, plastics, the combustible engine, and the internet while we're at it. All unnatural byproducts of pesky human meddling!
Or
Let's kill off these bloodsuckers. There's plenty other insects for bats, lizards, etc to eat.

We're just one little piece of mother nature. If our actions cause species, including maybe even our own, to go extinct, it will be one teeny tiny episode in geological time.
St. George's opinion:

reply to post by CaticusMaximus


you aren't so far up the food chain that you won't be next soon enough
just sayin

Out of respect for life, I have been 'feeding' mosquitos. I let them drink a few drops of my blood. Why? Because I understand that all living beings are aware and sentient. Imagine how many animals and plants we humans murder for food. Imagine how many plants and animals we kill for fun... for industry... for profit... and for no reason. I imagine the few drops of blood I give to mosquitos as a trade for how much we humans take from Earth.

But now with these genetically modified.... I may have to start murdering these poor creatures to protect myself against any disease, illness, or genetic damage that may come from this tampering. How I hate to kill living creatures (including insects).

P.S.
I have NEVER heard of a person in my area contracting malaria, west nile, or any other diseases from mosquitos... this is why I feel safe feeding them. The more you get bit, the less your body has an adverse reaction to mosquito saliva.

I have mixed feelings on this.

Yes there are animals that eat mosquitoes. But no animals feeds only on mosquitoes. That being said, if the mosquito went extinct another animals would evolve to fill it's niche. It's not like animals aren't constantly dying and what not. Even if the wild, after a certain amount of time a natural process takes place and one animals will kill off another and new animals will take its place.

I do feel bad that the little girls will just sit in the water and die. I wish they could just alter the mosquitoes so they eat something other than blood. Or make something that attracts mosquitoes - like a hybrid plant - to lure them away from civilization.

But no; I don't believe this is going to cause a complete collapse of the ecosystem. In the past 100 years, or less really, we've had several species go completely extinct.

Originally posted by Sahabi
Out of respect for life, I have been 'feeding' mosquitos. I let them drink a few drops of my blood. Why? Because I understand that all living beings are aware and sentient. Imagine how many animals and plants we humans murder for food. Imagine how many plants and animals we kill for fun... for industry... for profit... and for no reason. I imagine the few drops of blood I give to mosquitos as a trade for how much we humans take from Earth.

But now with these genetically modified.... I may have to start murdering these poor creatures to protect myself against any disease, illness, or genetic damage that may come from this tampering. How I hate to kill living creatures (including insects).

P.S.
I have NEVER heard of a person in my area contracting malaria, west nile, or any other diseases from mosquitos... this is why I feel safe feeding them. The more you get bit, the less your body has an adverse reaction to mosquito saliva.

Well, I guess we have balance because I try to kill as many as I can. You must be one itchy, bumpy person.