• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

2 billion genetically modified mosquitos are about to be released in the US

Grand Mal said:
The quick scan I did seems to say these ones can't breed because the females die off too early.
Click to expand...
Everything I’ve seen on this topic has self destruction in the model. They wanted to modify the invasive rodents killing all the flightless birds in New Zealand. Rendering male offspring sterile, IIRC. The elders rejected the plan.

It’s an approach with risks. All genetic modification is. I’m frankly appalled that GMO crops aren’t sterile.
 
If they could just ship me a hundred or two to release in the forest area next to our house........ Damn I hate those stinging little b$^#^@s
 
Luce said:
Bats eat all kinds of bugs.
Click to expand...
I know, but as much as I hate mosquitos, I don't want birds and bats to suffer. Of course their breeding habit will adjust. So there's that.
 
Bum said:
Scientists have been playing god with mosquitos for a couple of years now. Back in 2021, British company Oxitech released 750 million lab-modified mosquitos in Florida. Now, the company is gearing up to release another 2 billion genetically modified mosquitos across more of Florida and in California as well.
The new species, codenames OX5034, is made up entirely of male mosquitos. The new species is derived from the Aedes aegypti family of mosquitos. Just like others the company has released, this new 2 billion should produce female larvae that die off before they reach adulthood.


I find this fascinating and not a little terrifying...
Click to expand...
We really should stop ****ing with Mother Nature.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bum
Grand Mal said:
I don't know.
It just seems like a pretty extreme measure to take against an annoyance. Might be justifiable where hundreds or thousands of human lives are involved but this sounds like the fly-shotgun cliche.
Click to expand...
You call them an annoyance, but mosquitos kill more people than people.
 
Lursa said:
Yup

Mosquito-Borne and Other Insect-Borne Diseases | Florida Department of Health

Mosquito-borne disease infomation
www.floridahealth.gov www.floridahealth.gov

West Nile Virus, malaria (yes it can show up in the south), encephalitis....
Click to expand...

West Nile virus and malaria in Florida kills more people than other people?

I'm skeptical. They sure have kept it quiet.
Our fabulous FloriDUH Gun Nuts are in the news daily with their murderous ways.

>>>Malaria was eliminated from Florida in the late 1940s.<<<

Colorado is the state most affected by West Nile virus based on what I just read, and Florida has had minuscule numbers of cases and 0 deaths based on what I see.

Seems like a very negligible "problem" compared to our fabulous Gun Nuts imo.

🤷‍♂️
*smirk*

pwned-mclovin.gif
 
PeacefulWarrior said:
West Nile virus and malaria in Florida kills more people than other people?

I'm skeptical. They sure have kept it quiet.
Our fabulous FloriDUH Gun Nuts are in the news daily with their murderous ways.

>>>Malaria was eliminated from Florida in the late 1940s.<<<

Colorado is the state most affected by West Nile virus based on what I just read, and Florida has had minuscule numbers of cases and 0 deaths based on what I see.

Seems like a very negligible "problem" compared to our fabulous Gun Nuts imo.

🤷‍♂️
*smirk*
Click to expand...

Awww, that's adorable! You wrote this:

PeacefulWarrior said:
They kill people in Florida? You sure about that?
Click to expand...

And I proved that yes, mosquitos do kill people in FL.

Talk about PWNED! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Deuce said:
Was that what I said?
Click to expand...

No.
But the story said that the mosquitos are being released in Florida.
It doesnt seem to be a real big danger in Florida, but merely a nuisance of being bitten by them.
Maybe they are more dangerous to animals other than humans or something, I dont know their rationale for doing this in Florida.

Stinging bees kill people in the US every year, but we aren't trying to exterminate the bees. That I know of. Thats all. Thats my point.

I'm suspecting they have some reason(s) for doing this that I am not aware of.
 
Lursa said:
Awww, that's adorable! You wrote this:



And I proved that yes, mosquitos do kill people in FL.

Talk about PWNED! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Further willful ignorance noted, I get it, thats your MO here.

Congratulations, lets just say you "win" and move along. :rolleyes:(y)
 
PeacefulWarrior said:
Congratulations, lets just say you "win" and move along. :rolleyes:(y)
Click to expand...

Yup. You tried the 'gotcha' and your post came out looking stupid and downright nasty.

Karma
 
Lutherf said:
If this all worls out then they can release mosquitoes that are genetically designed to release a Covid vaccine and thus get everyone vaccinated whether they want to be or not.
Click to expand...
Now that's a great idea. "Don't want a vaccine? That's ok. We won't 'make' you get one." ;)
 
this fascinates me so i read more last night. i thought this article was really educational. you should read it all...


"There are around 3,500 mosquito species, but "only around 100 will potentially bite and spread disease to humans," Steven Sinkins, a professor in microbiology and tropical medicine at the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, told Live Science in an email."



www.livescience.com

Should we kill every mosquito on Earth?

Is this the best way to stop the spread of malaria?
www.livescience.com www.livescience.com
 
more from my link...


"For instance, Culiseta mosquitoes often bite humans, but are not known to carry any debilitating diseases, while Toxorhynchites, which are common the world over and tend to live in forests, prefer nectar sugars to blood, according to Entomology Today.


Therefore, it probably wouldn't be necessary to get rid of every mosquito species. Instead, we could target the more problematic ones, such as Aedes aegypti, which carry diseases such as yellow fever and Zika. A. aegypti is now ubiquitous, but it wasn't always this way. The species first spread out of Africa during the slave trade between the 15th and 19th centuries, through trade with Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries, and via troop movements during World War II, according to the World Mosquito Program, a nonprofit based in Australia."
 
CaughtInThe said:
more from my link...


"For instance, Culiseta mosquitoes often bite humans, but are not known to carry any debilitating diseases, while Toxorhynchites, which are common the world over and tend to live in forests, prefer nectar sugars to blood, according to Entomology Today.


Therefore, it probably wouldn't be necessary to get rid of every mosquito species. Instead, we could target the more problematic ones, such as Aedes aegypti, which carry diseases such as yellow fever and Zika. A. aegypti is now ubiquitous, but it wasn't always this way. The species first spread out of Africa during the slave trade between the 15th and 19th centuries, through trade with Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries, and via troop movements during World War II, according to the World Mosquito Program, a nonprofit based in Australia."
Click to expand...

This is a great book on that, btw. I bet most people dont even know that there used to be epidemics of yellow fever in the US.

The American Plague, Mary Caldwell Crosby.
 
more...

"It is nice to dream about a world without mosquitoes — a phenomenon that Hawaii experienced until 1826, when a foreign ship introduced the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus to the archipelago, according to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council."
 
Bum said:
Scientists have been playing god with mosquitos for a couple of years now. Back in 2021, British company Oxitech released 750 million lab-modified mosquitos in Florida. Now, the company is gearing up to release another 2 billion genetically modified mosquitos across more of Florida and in California as well.
The new species, codenames OX5034, is made up entirely of male mosquitos. The new species is derived from the Aedes aegypti family of mosquitos. Just like others the company has released, this new 2 billion should produce female larvae that die off before they reach adulthood.


I find this fascinating and not a little terrifying...
Click to expand...

Minneapolis has been doing this since the 1970's, only not with genetics, with radiation. They neuter them and release them, which is why the Twin Cities is much less infested than the rest of the state.
 
holbritter said:
We really should stop ****ing with Mother Nature.
Click to expand...
Don't worry. If it screws up the ecosystem in Florida, we've got plenty more mosquitos where they came from. We'll let Florida have them free, even.
 
Deuce said:
You call them an annoyance, but mosquitos kill more people than people.
Click to expand...
They do in Africa. Not in Florida. In Florida they're an annoyance.
 
Lutherf said:
If this all worls out then they can release mosquitoes that are genetically designed to release a Covid vaccine and thus get everyone vaccinated whether they want to be or not.
Click to expand...
They are not using mosquitoes in that manner. They are genetically engineering the males to prevent females from ever reaching adulthood. It is essentially a sterilization process.

Male and female mosquitoes both normally diet on sugars they extract as nectar from flowers. Only the female mosquito consumes blood from mammals in order to reproduce. So if they were going to use mosquitoes to transmit anything they would have to use females. Even then, not all mosquito species are capable of transmitting virus' or diseases.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom