Thousands of Genetically Modified Insects Set For Release

Thousands of Genetically Modified Insects Set For Release


'Mad' scientists at it again !

Now it's 'modified' male flies that will mate with females and the larvae will die.

The claim is that this a ‘green alternative’ to pesticides.

Some people are worried about the effects on animals that eat these new 'FrankenFlies', as well as Humans who eat the animals !!

Or what if the larvae die on food and are eaten ?

And what if this 'modification' mutates into something 'undesirable' like some kind of new 'FrankenDisease' ?

YUK !!

Just when you thought genetically modified mosquitoes and mutated dinner entrees were the extent of biotech’s hunger to manipulate the genetic coding of the planet, scientists have now unleashed a plan to launch thousands of ‘frankenfly’ style insects into the wild in order to combat pests.

And just like we saw with the release of genetically modified mosquitoes, the altered insects are actually being pushed as a ‘green alternative’ to the use of chemicals. You see, British scientists claim that mutating the genetic code of the insects is actually a way of substituting for the use of chemical pesticides. Chemical pesticides used to lower the population of olive flies in Britain. The reality here, however, is that you are taking something damaging like chemical pesticides and replacing it with something far worse.

It’s like trading in your aging car for a bicycle, except in this case the bicycle also happens to include side effects like ‘may alter the genetic structure of the entire insect population’.

Thousands of Genetically Modified Insects Set For Release

reply to post by xuenchen



Although im not really a supporter of GMO anything and prefer to leave things as natural as possible.

But I wouldn't mind seeing things like Mosquito's being GM'ed so they cant spread malaria and other fun diseases.

And what about the creatures that rely on those flies for food, also those flies clean up rotting matter, without the flies it will remain rotting and a threat to our health.

It's time someone put a stop to this madness!

Hmmm. Mad scientists at it again. I suppose in the minds of their followers, these flies are safe. What happens if it screws up and these flies young cause a mutation that makes things worse? Do the people pushing it go to jail for scamming the government? They should go to prison if they cause a lot of problems, after all they will have financially or benefited or have gained social status from their work. Both are gains.

I have seen things like this go wrong in my lifetimes on a regular basis. I particularly didn't like it when the government let those biting lady bugs go around here. That was a big flop. After each problem they create, another problem seems to emerge as a side effect, often worse than the original problem. Even flies have a reason for being, observe the reason they are here before getting rid of them. Look at the big picture, and don't just focus on the parts you want to see.

reply to post by xuenchen


Fools.

They're all fools.

They shouldn't mess with Mother Nature.

I could swear they've released them already.

I hope they don't mutate horribly, like one that used crawl is given wings.
Or Bees the size of birds

What a grand idea!
Surely kicking out a block at the bottom of the food chain will have no effect higher up right.
Although flies seem rather insignificant, they play a pretty major role in the chain.
Frogs, birds, small snakes, other insects, fish, and many other critters eat flies.

Why don't these idiots wait until they are a little closer to perfecting genetic manipulation before they start screwing with things that could have a long lasting and potentially very negative side effect?

I guess when giant chunks of the food chain are missing and most of the worlds food supply does little more than cause cancer and birth defects they will realize it was a bad idea. Or probably not.

Someone needs to reign in these morons.

Some where here, I have a pulp horror novel that has this exact plot. I think it was even mosquitoes that were genetically modified in the story- but I could be wrong on that.

I wish I could remember the name of it, or at least the author. It began as a means to combat something else, the supposed sterile insects were not sterile after a few generations (bug generations happen in weeks/months), and some monstrous hybrid was born that terrorized all living things.

I'm going to try and find that book- but I have so many, I'm a bit daunted by the task.

As for getting rid of mosquitoes- well, that's silly. They're pollinators. Only the females drink blood, and only when they're breeding. I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that these diseases evolved to keep us in check...and that needs too happen.

Imagine the absolute Horror !!
"Ending of the 1958 version of The Fly"

We know whats coming after this, its Godzilla!

reply to post by xuenchen


The release of sterile Screw Worm flies certainly worked before. Living on a farm with animals in the 50s the Screw worm fly problem was not a small matter.. The release was a super success..

The Cochliomyia hominivorax has been present in North America from ancient times, and is even referenced in some ancient indigenous dialogues.[citation needed] Mention of the species has also been found in some various texts from the time of the Spanish American colonies.[citation needed] Control of the adult flies was an exercise in futility in the United States for quite some time, until the advent in 1958 of the sterile insect technique. Proposed by a pair of scientists, Edward F. Knipling and Raymond C. Bushland, and rapidly adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture, the technique centers on a unique reproductive handicap that prevents female hominivorax flies from reproducing more than once in their life-spans. The scientists reasoned that if it were possible to clinically sterilise and release huge numbers of male hominivorax as breeding time approached, fertile males might be out-competed and the majority of female flies would lay sterile eggs. Irradiating the males was the method used for sterilisation. As the agricultural industry was losing millions of dollars annually due to treatment and loss of fly-struck animals, this solution was quickly approved for testing. It was first applied on a large scale in the state of Florida, due both to the severity of the problem there and to the state’s unique island-mimicking geography, which allowed for relative isolation of the Florida hominivorax population. Following eradication of Florida’s Primary screwworm population in 1959 the program was applied throughout the southern United States, and eventually adopted through much of Mexico in 1972 and parts of Central and South America. The hominivorax was completely eradicated from the southern United States in 1966 and from Mexico in 1991. Primary screwworm has been effectively eliminated in the United States and Mexico. Livestock there continue to be vulnerable, however, and strict laws regarding animal inspection and reporting of suspected infestations remain in place.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by xuenchen


Ewww. Green diaper eating munching doo-doo flies.

I understand that Baxter the crazy scientist from TMNT wouldn't be where he's at right now but this is ridiculous guys. Giant geekoid gorillas flies...no!

do i understand this correctly? they created a bunch of flies that can`t reproduce because the larva will die before they turn into flies.Flies don`t live for very long do they? so when these flies die the mad scientist will have to make more of them,because the flies can`t reproduce and make more of themselves.

Maybe they are trying to corner the market on flies? if they can create a world where there are no insects that can reproduce then everyone will have to buy insects from the guys that are making them.
It seems that every genetic modification so far to crops and now insects involves modifying them so that they can`t reproduce.
What is the point of making insects and crops that can`t reproduce,at some point in the future the only place to get crops or insects from will be the big corporations who make and sell them.The mad scientist are trying to create a monopoly on selling insects and crops.

727Sky
reply to post by xuenchen

 

The release of sterile Screw Worm flies certainly worked before. Living on a farm with animals in the 50s the Screw worm fly problem was not a small matter.. The release was a super success..
...

Those were sterilized, not genetically modified. There's a world of difference there, bub.

Sterilized flies were simply normal flies whose reproductive capability had been stymied. No genetic manipulation there. They bumped uglies but didn't put out.

These critters have been modified on a biologically molecular level. And not only do they put out, but what they put out is genetically modified to the point that it is not viable. That non-viable material will go into the food chain.

Not good. Not good at all.

reply to post by sylent6


Everything in nature has a purpose, is part of a major ecosystem and help balance life in the planet, even pesky mosquitoes, who have given this genetic artificial modifiers the right to manipulate what nature has kept in balance since the creation of earth.

Nature will always find a way, most of the time it is not in a very desirable way and with dangerous outcomes.

ShadowLink
What a grand idea!
Surely kicking out a block at the bottom of the food chain will have no effect higher up right.

...
Why don't these idiots wait until they are a little closer to perfecting genetic manipulation before they start screwing with things that could have a long lasting and potentially very negative side effect?

I guess when giant chunks of the food chain are missing and most of the worlds food supply does little more than cause cancer and birth defects they will realize it was a bad idea. Or probably not.

Someone needs to reign in these morons.

At the core of your quesitons is an existential conundrum that we moderns must face.

Once the concept of a transcendent Creator who has designed and built this cosmos to specifications is thrown out the window, there is no reason not to do what these folks are doing. If it's all just a freak accident of some pointless, aimless chemical processes gone haywire, then there is no order, no structure, ultimately no meaning.

That being the case, whose to say that it's not OK to do whatever we want to do? There's no point to it being the way it is, no reason for its existence, no method to the apparent madness, no rhyme to the reason, so messing with the the accidental result of chaos is just adding more of the same to the recipe.

If, on the other hand, one acknowledges that there is a transcendent creator who has designed it all and has a purpose, then two things sink in:

First, it's not mine (or ours) to do with as we please. We answer to a higher authority and must take the purposes of that higher authority into consideration.

Second, given that there is an acknowledged (if not fully understood) order to it all, one also acknowledges that one should not tamper with that order as upsetting it may have unintended and un-good consequenses.

So, enjoy the world we've created. Who's left to say they are in the wrong?

I don't see how this could possibly go wrong...
>end sarcasm

reply to post by 727Sky


It worked to eliminate those pesky problems which cost money and inconvenienced our lordships but how did it change the ecosystem? Did we follow up? Do we even care beyond "It's not a problem in our face anymore". Sometimes the eradication of immediate problems could take many cycles to become apparent without continuing to follow a trail left behind in the wake our goals achieved. Just a concern I have with changing gears in a clock that keeps time precisely.

reply to post by incoserv

Nicely said however, for me it's not a question of it being the property of a creator or even if it's right or wrong.
For me it's the fact that it really seems they are putting so little effort into thinking about any possible side effects or long term effects.

Look at the GMO corn that is the hot topic lately. We can debate all day about weather it really does cause cancer and birth defects all day, but the fact that it's even a debate one way or the other means it's not proven safe or unsafe, yet it's been implemented pretty much around the world as if they can see into the future and know for a fact it will all be good.
What happens in 20 years when we find out 80% of our children can't have children of their own due to the side effects?

I guess my point and my main concern is that we are really just learning to genetically modify things.
Therefore, we REALLY need to do a lot more testing and research and looking into ALL of the potential impacts that our medaling with nature can cause.

This isn't a new type of car wax or floor cleaner they are setting upon the world, this is something that can have dire consequences if care isn't taken.

Releasing a bunch of sterile flies into the wild doesn't seems to show much thought about the effect they might have in the long term.

Replacing/contaminating most of the corn in the world doesn't either (For the purpose of profit and cornering the market I might ad.). It's a MAJOR food source for the entire world. What happens if we lose it completely in however many years?

There are many good arguments in this thread and many others, both for and against. As I said though, my main concern is that they are taking action as if it's a guaranteed thing when in fact I am quite sure they haven't really put much thought if any into the future.