SIGforum
Florida to Release 750M GMO Mosquitoes, What could go wrong...

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/8290066374

August 21, 2020, 12:53 AM
46and2
Florida to Release 750M GMO Mosquitoes, What could go wrong...
quote:
Originally posted by DaveL:
They can’t produce fertile offspring so if it’s a bust they will be gone pretty soon. It won’t be hard to get more mosquitoes if we need them.

(emphasis mine)

I feel like I've heard that plot device before.


August 21, 2020, 07:03 AM
DaveL
quote:
Originally posted by 46and2:
quote:
Originally posted by DaveL:
They can’t produce fertile offspring so if it’s a bust they will be gone pretty soon. It won’t be hard to get more mosquitoes if we need them.

(emphasis mine)

I feel like I've heard that plot device before.


Sure, they could be entirely wrong or nature could find a way, etc. But if that happens we’ll just have a bunch of extra mosquitoes to kill, not a bunch of big angry lizards.
August 21, 2020, 08:32 AM
just1tym
Sheesh, Florida again...we've never had an insect or pest problem here!






Regards, Will G.
August 21, 2020, 08:39 AM
Veeper
So your objection to this, and reason for calling them assholes, is a Hollywood movie, which was based on a work of fiction.

Awesome.




“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken
August 21, 2020, 09:13 AM
46and2
quote:
Originally posted by Veeper:
So your objection to this, and reason for calling them assholes, is a Hollywood movie, which was based on a work of fiction.

Awesome.

Super awesome, in fact.

(Of course not. One can have concerns and make fun, too.)

(eyeroll)
August 21, 2020, 10:24 AM
tanner
quote:
Don't forget Asian Carp, which may yet decimate our freshwater fish population.


Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. Big Grin






August 22, 2020, 09:41 PM
jimmy123x
I'm not understanding on how this will help anything as there will still be the same number, if not more normal females that will reproduce......

It seems just like the huge failure they did with lovebugs......and Australian pine trees and more.....humans can't fix mother nature.....only make it worse.
August 23, 2020, 12:19 AM
Fenris
Next...

We kill all the ticks.




The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People again must learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. ~ Cicero 55 BC

The Dhimocrats love America like ticks love a hound.
August 23, 2020, 07:53 AM
DaveL
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm not understanding on how this will help anything as there will still be the same number, if not more normal females that will reproduce......

It seems just like the huge failure they did with lovebugs......and Australian pine trees and more.....humans can't fix mother nature.....only make it worse.


The idea is they continually release males that can’t produce viable offspring (they have to do this continually because the GM mosquitoes only live for about two days). Female mosquitoes usually mate only once in their lives so if one mates with a GM mosquito her offspring will die during the larval stage and she will then die having failed to replace herself. After millions of these events the population collapses.

It’s kind of like flooding a singles bar with very attractive but secretly gay men.

Love bugs and Australian pines are invasive species that were accidentally (love bugs) or intentionally (Australian pines) brought to the US. They are certainly a problem, but a very different one than this.
August 23, 2020, 07:55 AM
DaveL
quote:
Originally posted by DaveL:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm not understanding on how this will help anything as there will still be the same number, if not more normal females that will reproduce......

It seems just like the huge failure they did with lovebugs......and Australian pine trees and more.....humans can't fix mother nature.....only make it worse.


The idea is they continually release males that can’t produce viable offspring (they have to do this continually because the GM mosquitoes only live for about two days). Female mosquitoes usually mate only once in their lives so if one mates with a GM mosquito her offspring will die during the larval stage and she will then die having failed to replace herself. After millions of these events the population collapses.

It’s kind of like flooding a singles bar with very attractive but secretly gay men. After a while no one will be having any fun and the bar will close.

Love bugs and Australian pines are invasive species that were accidentally (love bugs) or intentionally (Australian pines) brought to the US. They are certainly a problem, but a very different one than this.

August 23, 2020, 10:24 AM
nhtagmember
Thinking about how much disease and misery is transmitted by mosquitos.

It will be a wonderful thing to see them eradicated.
August 23, 2020, 11:37 AM
captain127
No animal on earth is responsible for more death and disease through the span of human existence than the mosquito.
While I do not think this is at its core a bad idea, there are always unintended consequences. Some not emerging u til years later. Species such as bats or others that feed primarily on mosquitoes will obviously be affected, but who knows down the line what else might be ?
August 23, 2020, 12:14 PM
BBMW
The comparison to the Africanized honey bees is off base. The bees were not intentionally released. Someone screwed the pooch and let the queens out. They breed had not been properly tested and vetted, and probably needed a lot more work before they'd be safe.

In this instance, it seems that all the testing has been done and properly vetted, and the breed passed. So the release would be intentional and should be safe.
August 23, 2020, 04:59 PM
Graniteguy
Maybe we run some trials on deer ticks to find a cure for some STD's while we are at it.
August 23, 2020, 05:12 PM
SOTAR
I reference Africanized Bees because:
1) It was the first genetically modified insect that came to mind.
2) Regardless of it being an accidental release or not, it was/is a disaster.


---------
Yes, they will have to continue to release males of this variant until the mosquitoes are eradicated completely or to a level that someone, someplace is happy with.

Personally I hope this is successful and can be repeated across the globe to fight dengue, zika, malaria etc..


------------
Jumping fish: There is probably a good reason why this isn't done.

Why not pilot a bass boat up the river at low speed, 2-3 guys with shotguns and duck loads, "hunt" them to extinction. I know this is a separate topic. And yes the danger is overshooting the target and hitting something/someone etc.. Seems like it could fix the issue.

I worry about them getting into the Great Lakes.

-S

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SOTAR,


__________________________
My door is always open to Sigforum members, and I'm always willing to help if I can.
August 23, 2020, 05:37 PM
Anush
quote:
Don't forget Asian Carp, which may yet decimate our freshwater fish population.


Yes, It was going to eat the Asian Milfoil & "could not reproduce". They were introduced to the Tennessee river I think in the 1970's or 1980's.


__________________________________________________

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit!

Sigs Owned - A Bunch
August 23, 2020, 09:43 PM
cparktd
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm not understanding on how this will help anything as there will still be the same number, if not more normal females that will reproduce......



From the article:
The new male mosquito, OX5034, is programmed to kill only female mosquitoes, with males surviving for multiple generations and passing along the modified genes to subsequent male offspring.

SO...
The females die. The males survive AND also pass on the killer gene.
If true, it sounds like it could very well work.



If it ain't woke... don't fix it.
August 23, 2020, 10:08 PM
jimmy123x
quote:
Originally posted by cparktd:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm not understanding on how this will help anything as there will still be the same number, if not more normal females that will reproduce......



From the article:
The new male mosquito, OX5034, is programmed to kill only female mosquitoes, with males surviving for multiple generations and passing along the modified genes to subsequent male offspring.

SO...
The females die. The males survive AND also pass on the killer gene.
If true, it sounds like it could very well work.


What could possibly go wrong??? Big Grin
August 23, 2020, 10:40 PM
Pale Horse
quote:
Originally posted by SOTAR:

"With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment," said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement released Wednesday.


If I don’t know anything about a subject but liberal SLWs are against it then I know it’s probably a good thing. Based on the people who are upset about this, I’m thinking it will work perfectly.




“Everybody wants a Sig in the sheets but a Glock on the streets.” -bionic218 04-02-2014
August 24, 2020, 12:49 PM
woods62
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aph...rm/screwworm_history

Sounds similar to screw worms