They’ve been releasing mosquitoes sterilized via various means for decades to do population control - this isn’t as extreme as people make it out to be
I really had no idea the sterile-insect technique worked so well! One wonders, as was chewed over in a thread a few days ago, why it isn't already being used at scale to destroy invasive populations of malaria-bearing mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa.
They're only targeting a single species of mosquito. Other species will quickly move in to fill the same niche so the impact should be minimal. Sure it's risky, but the reward is significant.
The methods discussed in the article can be targeted on a per species basis. The action could be limited to mosquito species that prefer to target humans.
> Aedes, Anopheles and Culex are found almost all over the world and are responsible for around 17 per cent of infectious disease transmissions globally."
If I understand that correctly, that is a massive number. I really like what these sterilization trials are producing. In my mind, it’s a lot safer than spraying chemicals across cities.
There have been a lot of studies on this, and apparently it is safe to eradicate these particular mosquitoes (and given how many people are sick each years because of them, it doesn't feel like it could be worse than not eradicating them).
In any case, it's not really comparable to idiots killing birds during the GLF, since it was a completely stupid policy based on no science at all.
I think the common method is to release sterile male mosquitos, that are sterilized using radiation. In this method they are sterilized using a genetic modification (probably in their mothers?).
Since the released mosquitoes are sterile, it's difficult to think what can go wrong.
(Assuming my guess is correct) Perhaps the mothers producing sterile mosquitoes can escape, but they will get only a 50% of offspring, so they will get extint soon in the wild.
I heard a similar scenario as a plan to kill mosquitoes. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to work but a lot of smart people seem to believe it’s possible.
Also note that despite the technique being proven in the lab, and the fact that mosquitoes kill a half-million people per year, we have not yet pulled the trigger and done it. Exactly for fear of the potential ecological consequences.
That's an interesting development. Normally to release a lot of sterile mosquitoes you breed lots of regular ones and then have to sterilize batches. A skeeter with a dietary sterile-offspring switch is really useful.
Isn’t that plan only to eliminate the specific species responsible for disease carrying? There are many mosquitos, the mosquito they’re targeting is just one.
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