• BauerBender@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16 hours

    The technology to eradicate homelessness, hunger, war, climate change, and Cap’n Crunch cereal all exist too, but I don’t see anyone addressing those either.

    • Doomsider@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11 hours

      To even suggest someone commits violence against a wholesome cereal whose sole purpose is to rip up the mouths of young children is pure blasphemy.

      Can someone report this guy!? It looks like we may have another Cereal Killer on the loose. /s

  • chrash0@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23 hours

    It shouldn’t have to take fifteen years to deploy effective products that can save lives

    this is such a reductionist view.

    it should absolutely take decades to make a sweeping decision to fundamentally alter an ecosystem. nobody likes disease or even getting a random bite. i grew up in the swamps of the US, i know. but we should absolutely know what we’re doing to release a genetically engineered or bacterial sterilizing agent into a naturally evolved ecosystem.

    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      22 hours

      Ok. You can take decades if you have a systematic plan with data collection, time lines, expanded test beds, and reviews of emerging relevant science. But sitting on your hands for 15yrs isn’t very productive.

      People have been more than happy to do this with the food we eat under accelerated time lines (I’m not defending that, but it’s not like there isn’t precedent for genetic meddling at scale.

      • chrash0@lemmy.worldEnglish
        22 hours

        they did mention doing harmonization studies, which is my biggest worry: cascading ecological effects.

        the impetus can’t be “oh well they haven’t done the full studies so i guess we just full send and see what happens”.

    • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
      21 hours

      These techniques are targeted at individual species, not all mosquitoes, and the species in question are invasive species. If it was targeting native mosquitoes your comment would make more sense, but in this case the ecological effects should be neutral to positive.

      • CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.worldEnglish
        19 hours

        Careful. Targeted bacteriological or viral methods can adapt once out in the open. What you ultimately cause may not be what was intended. What other creatures share traits that might be susceptible? Let’s not pretend we’ve genomapped and understood everything out there.

        Also mosquitos and their larvae are food for parts of the food web. If they are gone, what starves?

        Unintended consequences are a real risk. Careful study should be required.

    • Wildmimic@anarchist.nexusEnglish
      22 hours

      There’s a large difference between 15 years of science to make sure something doesn’t do more harm than it prevents, and taking a decade before someone even declares themselves as responsible for evaluating anything.

  • zbyte64@awful.systemsEnglish
    17 hours

    Wouldn’t that reduce the dragon fly population as well (who eats mosquito larva)?

    • Kalothar@lemmy.caEnglish
      11 hours

      Only like 3 species out of the something of 3500 mosquito species drink human blood/ carry diesease this way, and they only do this during the females pregnancy not as a primary food source.

      And of those 3 species, I think one makes up the majority of mosquitos that are found worldwide and this is the one that would be targeted

      https://askabiologist.asu.edu/mosquito-species

    • Sasha [They/Them]@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      16 hours

      They don’t really control mosquito populations that much. Dragon flies prefer fresh permanent bodies of water (I think usually flowing too), whereas mosquito larvae inhabit stagnant pools.

    • shartgargle@lemmy.zipEnglish
      16 hours

      They eat other things as well. Supposedly mosquitoes are pretty much the only living thing that’s completely useless, and can be eradicated with no ill effects.

      • King_Bob_IV@startrek.websiteEnglish
        12 hours

        If I recall correctly mosquito larve are incredible water filters and are responsible for maintaining water quality in many types of wetlands.

  • StabbingSky@lemmy.zipEnglish
    24 hours

    A system to kill a fuck ton with lasers has existed for decades, but a patent troll is sitting on it.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    22 hours

    so yeah. genociding species tends not to end well. That being said we actually just need to eliminate the disease spreading mosquitos and don’t need to get rid of them all so. maybe.

    • Wildmimic@anarchist.nexusEnglish
      22 hours

      These technologies are pretty much unable to completely genocide mosquitos unless deployed worldwide in an massive effort, which noone wants to actually do - they are really only problematic in areas where mosquitos and blood-borne diseases which get transmitted by them happen to coexist.

  • Hoimo@ani.socialEnglish
    16 hours

    You don’t need to be brave to use mosquito nets.

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zipEnglish
    23 hours

    A lot of technology to do a lot of cool shit already exists, we just refuse to use them

  • PMP@aussie.zoneEnglish
    22 hours

    Mosquitoes are my mortal enemy, unless someone can prove their eradication will disrupt the food chain so much that great white sharks will disappear … Push play already.

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.todayEnglish
      9 hours

      elephant mosquitoes, the big mosquitoes you see arnt blood suckers, thier larva hunts the mosquitoe larvae that does suck blood