Hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes set to be released into the Florida Keys in

What are your feelings about GM creatures being released into the wild in order to kill off the progeny?

I mean sure, there is a noble cause behind it, but couldn't something like this adversely affect other animals that say, live off of the mosquitoes?

Anyhow, here is the link to the story. Form your own opinions.

GM Mosquitoes to be released in Florida

Of course this is happening in the Florida keys, as I am moving into my house there in a few months...go figure! Just my luck! ....this stuff freaks me out, as it's not natural and can open pandoras box! ...just like when they started cross pollinating beefy tomatoes with spider hormones. Grossed me out, and I won't eat a beefy tomato unless it's organic!

reply to post by ProfessorChaos

The non-biting male mosquitoes genetically modified would pass along a birth defect killing their progeny before reaching maturity

Crazy stuff. I hate it when they think they know how to combat the "negative" aspects of the chain of life by modifying the genome of some species. Say it works...

Whoopie...

Say one of these mosquitos is struck by a cosmic ray and that mutates its genes so that the biting reflex returns and it bites people passing along that "birth defect" to people? Human offspring begin dying in droves...

Whoopsie...

reply to post by ProfessorChaos


link

The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr. It received the Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and has been adapted into a television film. The title refers to the technique of eradicating the population of screwflies by the release of large amounts of sterilized males that would compete with fertile males, thus reducing the native population more with each generation this is done. This story concerns a similar distortion of human sexuality with disastrous results. Plot The story begins with an exchange of letters and news clippings between Alan, a scientist working on parasite eradication in Colombia, and his wife Anne at home in the U.S., concerning an epidemic of organized murder of women by men. Some scientists suspect a biological cause for this sexually selective insanity (selected observations of lab animals indicate that the normal male sexual urges are spiraling out of control, resulting in death), but the murderers feel it is a natural instinct and have constructed elaborate misogynistic rationalizations for it. For example, a new religious movement is spreading along with the murders: the Sons of Adam, who believe that women are evil, that the garden was a paradise before women were introduced, and that God is telling them to get rid of all of the women. When the religion initially arises, prior to the organized murders, little is done to stop the ideology's spread, nor are their actions of evicting women from the areas the men control prevented. Alan realizes that the disease causes male sexual impulses to instead become violent impulses. Alan, a sensitive, kindly man, realizes that he himself is succumbing and tries to resist the impulses, as well as isolate himself from women. While this occurs, his wife and teenaged daughter have a number of mother-daughter conflicts: the daughter, faithful to her father, refuses to believe her mother's warnings about him. She sneaks off to visit her father, and he murders her, killing himself after the horrific realization of his action. Anne flees north, to Canada, since the disease began in the tropical zones and spread outward. After most of the world's women are dead, adult men start murdering boys. In the end, Anne, pursued by an entire society bent on femicide, discovers the source and motivation behind the plague: an alien species is intentionally causing the human race to destroy itself so that the aliens can have Earth for themselves.

Sounds legit lol

The sterile insect technique[1][2] is a method of biological control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released. The released insects are normally male as it is the female that causes the damage, usually by laying eggs in the crop, or, in the case of mosquitoes, taking a bloodmeal from humans. The sterile males compete with the wild males for female insects. If a female mates with a sterile male then it will have no offspring, thus reducing the next generation's population. Repeated release of insects can eventually wipe out a population, though it is often more useful to consider controlling the population rather than eradicating it.[citation needed]

The technique has successfully been used to eradicate the Screw-worm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) in areas of North America. There have also been many successes in controlling species of fruit flies, most particularly the Medfly (Ceratitis capitata), and the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens).

Insects are mostly sterilized with radiation, which might weaken the newly sterilized insects, if doses are not correctly applied, making them less able to compete with wild males.[3][4][5] However, other sterilization techniques are under development which would not affect the insects' ability to compete for a mate.

The technique was pioneered in the 1950s by American entomologists Dr. Raymond C. Bushland and Dr. Edward F. Knipling. For their achievement, they jointly received the 1992 World Food Prize.




thats from wikepedia sorry they have been doing this since 1950

reply to post by lobotomizemecapin


I realize that science has been interfering with nature for a long time, My post wasn't about this being some new concept, it was about the potential affects of this type of action.

Mucking about with nature and the way in which it works isn't something man should be doing in my opinion.

reply to post by ProfessorChaos

Hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes are awaiting federal approval for release into the Florida Keys as part of an Hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes are awaiting federal approval for release into the Florida Keys as part of an experiment aimed at reducing the risk of dengue fever.

Key word here being experiment, doesn't leave me feeling real positive.

What happens if the "experiment" doesn't work out as they planned?
Then what?

The non-biting male mosquitoes genetically modified would pass along a birth defect killing their progeny before reaching maturity

"Non-biting"......yeah right, for how long.

"Life will find a way"

I say it's a bad idea, and in a few years they will probably regret it.
Then they will have to "create" some thing to kill the out of control mosquitoes that they experimented with.

reply to post by snarky412


In 1876 they experimented with Kudzu ( a Japanese vine). It was touted as a high-protein cattle fodder, and cover plant to prevent soil erosion.

It was re-categorized as a weed in 1953, and is now considered a menace in the south. It is known as "The Plant that ate the South."

That worked out well didn't it?

reply to post by snarky412


Another experiment gone wrong: "Schieffelin's Flock" Eugene Schieffelin is responsible for the introduction of starlings to North America in an effort to transplant all of the birds for the works of William Shakespeare to America.

Outcome:

Being an introduced species European starlings are exempt from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Starlings are among the worst nuisance species in North America. The birds travel in enormous flocks; pose danger to air travel; disrupt farms; displace native birds; and roost on city blocks. Corrosive droppings on structures cause hundreds of millions of dollars of yearly damage. In 2008 the U.S. government poisoned, shot or trapped 1.7 million, the most of any nuisance species.


Hmm... maybe we ought to leave nature to its own devices huh?
No, of course not! Where there's a will, there's a way to screw things up.

It makes me uncomfortable when man messes around with mother nature. What will happen to the creatures that feed off those mosquitos? We already have a huge problem with bats dying off from white nose syndrome. Bats eat mosquitos. I hate mosquitos with a passion, but messing with nature makes me nervous.

Every time they do this kind of crap it comes back to haunt us. Why do they even let them do this kind of stuff. The mosquitoes will probably wind up killing some birds off that eat them or something weird. Maybe the animals won't eat them and they will multiply without any natural predator, taking over the whole country. Are these people that do this stuff some kind of terrorists or something, causing things to happen that could destabilize our environment. I'm a hundred percent sure that this will backfire if allowed to go forward.

reply to post by ProfessorChaos


My point exactly....

In stead of thinking could we do this, they need to think whether or not they should do it.

Aren't we supposed to learn from our past mistakes ?!

Just saying.....

I think I saw the movie of this....

Mimic, right? The one where the bugs turn giant in the subways...

Enough of this GM BS lets just take a fleet of C-130s with tanks for spraying and kill off every mosquito in the Florida Keys.

This will also get the biting flies and all the other pest..

Either, we humans, once again show our ignorance and stupidity, by toying with natures forces that we dont understand .. will end badly ...
OR ...
On this occasion, the humans do understand, and know exactly what theyre doing to natures forces .. and will still end badly, as desired ..

ETA - I give negative outcomes to both .. not out of pessimism .. but what i believe to be realistic, cos time and time again, that is what we 'seem' to fail to learn from our previous mistakes ..

Im thinking more of the huge list of when we intervened (tampered) with natural biodiversity .. causing an imbalance in the local ecosystems ... the list of these interventions (knowingly and unknowingly), with their potentially disastrous results is huge ...
en.wikipedia.org...
I realise theres debate as to whether this can be 'beneficial' ... and yes .. it seems there are often short term benefits to be had by the local inhabitants etc .. before they become aware of the longer term detrimental, and often irreversible effects ...

One wee tiny apparently insignifacant change can have huge 'unforeseen' long term impacts .. why have they not learned this already ... or have they ?

and here we are .. tweaking nature to our satisfaction again .. who do we think we are .. we make me sick ...

PS - Much love

It will have consequences of biblical proportion.

We very well could wake up some day to find crazy looking locus gnawing at our loved ones.

Think about it.