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We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?
US Headtopics ^ | 06 03 2025 | Staff

Posted on 06/04/2025 7:27:17 AM PDT by yesthatjallen

Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions.

Yet the development of this technology also raises a profound ethical question: When, if ever, is it okay to intentionally drive a species out of existence? Simoni said he hopes Target Malaria can move beyond the lab and deploy some of the genetically modified mosquitoes in their natural habitats within the next five years. The nonprofit research consortium gets its core funding from the Gates Foundation, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Open Philanthropy, backed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna.At the heart of Target Malaria’s work is a powerful genetic tool called a gene drive.

“Technology is presenting new options to us,” said Christopher Preston, a University of Montana environmental philosopher. “We might’ve been able to make a species go extinct 150 years ago by harpooning it too much or shooting it out of the sky. But today, we have different options, and extinction could be completed or could be started in a lab.

“This is not a difficult audience, because these are people that are living in an area where children are dying,” said Krystal Birungi, an entomologist for Target Malaria in Uganda, though she added that she sometimes has to fight misinformation, such as the false idea that bites from genetically modified mosquitoes can make people sterile.

SNIP

(Excerpt) Read more at us.headtopics.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: dna; mosquitoes
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1 posted on 06/04/2025 7:27:17 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

Eliminate mosquitos, fire ants, and Democrats.


2 posted on 06/04/2025 7:28:54 AM PDT by Dalberg-Acton
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To: Dalberg-Acton
Eliminate mosquitos, fire ants, and Democrats.

Start with ticks.

3 posted on 06/04/2025 7:30:48 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: yesthatjallen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT6Hvb6W2uY


4 posted on 06/04/2025 7:31:03 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Dalberg-Acton

“fire ants”

Many years ago I stirred ant mounds with a stick.

I only sprayed hills with aggressive ants.

That seems to have worked well.


5 posted on 06/04/2025 7:31:08 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: yesthatjallen

Bats would starve!.....................


6 posted on 06/04/2025 7:31:12 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: yesthatjallen

Bats and Barn Swallows will object strongly


7 posted on 06/04/2025 7:31:19 AM PDT by Samurai_Jack (This is not about hypocrisy, this is about hierarchy!)
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To: yesthatjallen

There may be unintended consequences, but I’m willing to take that chance.


8 posted on 06/04/2025 7:31:45 AM PDT by PTBAA
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To: yesthatjallen

What eats mosquitos? Beware the butterfly effect.


9 posted on 06/04/2025 7:32:19 AM PDT by Tench_Coxe (The woke were surprised by the reaction to the Bud Light fiasco. May there be many more surprises)
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To: Samurai_Jack

And also, isn’t this the concept of some science fiction novels and movies?
They don’t end well.


10 posted on 06/04/2025 7:32:22 AM PDT by Samurai_Jack (This is not about hypocrisy, this is about hierarchy!)
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To: 1Old Pro
'Eliminate mosquitos, fire ants, and Democrats.'

'Start with ticks.'

That seems redundant.

11 posted on 06/04/2025 7:32:32 AM PDT by alancarp (George Orwell was an optimist.)
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To: Red Badger

and Swallows ...


12 posted on 06/04/2025 7:34:31 AM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: yesthatjallen

We definitely should not. Taking out part of the food chain is bad. Something eats mosquitos, no mosquitos means they die.


13 posted on 06/04/2025 7:34:53 AM PDT by discostu (like a dog being shown a card trick)
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To: Red Badger

As would fish who eat mosquito larvae.


14 posted on 06/04/2025 7:35:43 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: Samurai_Jack

Dragonflies, too. To say nothing of the aquatic animals that prey upon mosquito larvae.


15 posted on 06/04/2025 7:36:25 AM PDT by gundog (The ends justify the mean tweets. )
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To: yesthatjallen

And Dragon fly larvae!..................


16 posted on 06/04/2025 7:36:42 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: yesthatjallen
I had dengue fever and almost died, partly because with the covid shutdown the city here in the Philippines didn't have funding for spraying the drainage ditches etc.

So I say kill the suckers.

Besides, they will never be able to kill them all, so the entire argument is nonsense.

17 posted on 06/04/2025 7:39:15 AM PDT by LadyDoc (liberals only love politically correct poor people)
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To: yesthatjallen

No. Mosquitoes play a role in ecosystems as both a food source for other animals and as pollinators for some plants. They are also important in nutrient recycling within aquatic environments.


18 posted on 06/04/2025 7:39:35 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: yesthatjallen

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Genesis 1:26


19 posted on 06/04/2025 7:40:29 AM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: yesthatjallen
We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?

Absolutely not. The food chain is an important part of life, and mosquitos are part of that.

20 posted on 06/04/2025 7:41:02 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux - The Ultimate Windows Service Pack )
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