Researchers unleash genophage on...mosquitoes

[pspman45]

now one of their kind will join my squad, and will want me to spare the cloning lab where the cure is...

 

[Suijen]

I despise mosquitoes. What role do they play in the ecosystem again?

 

[yankeefan19]

On one hand I hate mosquitos (Everyone fucking does), but on the other hand mosquitos are still important to several environments. There are various animals that eat them to get the nutrients in the blood they suck.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

This is one of many ideas being used to control malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and so on.

Another kind I've seen in the journals is genetically engineering the females to be flightless. As only the females take blood meals, this would essentially cripple the vector for a whole host of diseases.

Now, consider that malaria claims two million lives per year (which, given the low mortality rate, means many more illnesses and suffering), dengue claims maybe 50k annually with dengue hemorrhagic fever, etc...

Yeah. This is a great thing.

Really now? Interesting. A few months back I read an article about a genetically modified mosquito that is effectively immune to the malaria causing parasite, meaning that the parasites are destroyed before they can be transferred to a host and stemming the tide of malaria outbreaks. One would wonder what would happen if all these genetically modified mosquito populations were to converge...

 

[EradiusLore]

if we can (at some point in the future) wipe out as many insects as possible then i will be happy

 

[Cyanin]

This is scary. Very scary.

If they're able to do this for nature's asshole, the mosquito, I can't see why they can't do it with any other species. With that in mind, doing this with any other species (I'm not sure about mosquitos themselves) could irreversibly destroy an ecosystem.

Also, wrong hands + evil villain = global human genocide.

Jus sayin...

 

[DoctorPhil]

Whatever eats mosquitoes, swallows or other birds I guess, will suffer. This isn't a good idea. Genetically engineering them so as to make them not carry malaria would be better.

But then, the population in African nations is already exploding, if mosquitoes were gone it would skyrocket. It sounds cold, but just think: if they already can't support the populations they have (the current crisis in the East of the continent being a prime example) how are they going to support even more people? Famines and droughts would be even worse.

A death from malaria is probably more merciful than starving to death and something has to keep the human population in check, as evil as it sounds. Every time a baby over there is born, all the others suffer just a little bit more since resources have to be shared.

Why don't they do this with killer bees instead? Those are actually ruining ecosystems, mosquitoes feed so much creatures.

 

[Araksardet]

This is actually really cool, and I'm glad someone's doing this (Malaria sucks, and frankly, so do mosquitos in general) - but we do need to be careful. That said, I don't think there's anything that relies exclusively on mosquitos for food, right?

As adults, mosquitos get eaten by stuff like bats and birds, but they eat tons of other stuff. A quick look at Wikipedia suggests the larval form is prey for some fish and dragonfly larvae. I think spiders and adult dragonflies also eat mosquitoes - but in any case, all these animals seem to eat other things. The ecosystem might temporarily be imbalanced, but I don't get the feeling we'd see extinctions or anything.

What species do mosquitos compete against? What niche do they share, if any? Unlike flies (useful for processing biological debris, i.e. corpses and dung), or bees (pollination), I can't think of a critical function filled by mosquitos. Yes, they apparently eat nectar, but lots of other insects could replace them in that function. Do they regulate any populations lower down in the hierarchy that might be problematic, parasites maybe? I don't think so, though I could be wrong.

All in all, I think extinction of mosquitos is something most people wouldn't complain about. There are more important insects out there (flies, bees, termites, spiders, and ants all play much more critical roles).

EDIT: Concerning population growth in Africa, it wouldn't just explode unchecked without Malaria. There's still AIDS, remember? The Pope is making sure Malthus doesn't get the last laugh there. Besides, even if it did explode, it would either collapse again due to local overpopulation or would (via reduced suffering) level out as standards of living increase, as they did in the West.

 

[Rhys Wilson]

Actually, they are an extremely important part of the fish ecosystem... at least, there larva are.

 

[hotsauceman]

http://www.cracked.com/article_17481_the-5-most-hated-creatures-planet-dont-deserve-it_p2.html?wa_user1=5&wa_user2=Science&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=recommended
Take with a grain of salt.

When will we learn that nature is perfect without us and has a system that we couldnt possibly understand?

 

[DustStorm]

As long as they did their research on the long term effect of the "genophage" and are certain that reducing the population will not affect the environment negatively I'm all for it.

 

[Aethren]

Terrible idea. Every time we fuck with nature, something always gets screwed up.

 

[GeorgW]

I'm never happy about the idea of intentional genocide of a species, but I do dislike mosquitoes... As long as it only decreases birth rate a little, I'm fine with it. Bring it here! You know, after you bring it to malaria hot-spots...

 

[mrscientist411]

I hate mosquitoes, they always target me. That being said, I think the percentage reduced should depend on the local population. Bring it way down in Africa but perhaps only 50% or so in North America... It would screw with the ecosystem, if I remember correctly the only species that could be removed without doing any serious damage is the mole, and I'm not positive on that....

 

[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.

You know, that's the most heartless post I've read for quite a while...
Explain that to someone in the third world, who suffers malaria.

You are ascribing an emotion to something that is emotionless. Nature doesnt care that your ego is upset by it's actions. It simply is.

Perhaps I shouldnt have said, "Get over it." What I should have said was, "Accept it."

 

[WizardArtist]

Not that I think messing with nature is a good thing but I hope they sterilize gnats next.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Fuck yeah, collapsing species! We sure showed those insects. Why is our ecosystem collapsing? OH GOD

 

[Radelaide]

Oh thank CHRIST!

At the uni in my city, it's built on what used to be a swamp and the Mosquitoes are the size of cats and twice as mean!

Mosquitoes in Australia are terrible and need to be culled. *scratches an itchy bite*