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  • I did some research over the summer on Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito that spreads malaria, and I was stunned to learn how many diseases are spread by mosquitoes. There are tons of viruses (yellow fever, dengue, West Nile), protozoa (like malaria), and even parasitic worms (lymphatic filariasis--the pictures of this are awful). Hundreds of millions of people are infected with these diseases every year, and I'm a bit shocked of how ignorant I was to this. Malaria eradication has stalled over the last decade [0], and I hope that we can resume it.

    [0] https://anopheles-genomic-surveillance.github.io/home.html

    by jwgarber
  • I don't understand how it works. Suppose I can create male mosquitos, which can mate with wild females and affect their offspring in such a way that it can't survive or infect people. But in order for this to be effective, I must also somehow prevent wild males doing their job. Also I need to be able to release very large quantities of modified mosquitos (comparable to overall population size), which seems to be impossible.
    by Panzerschrek
  • The tools available for these biological operations are fascinating. OP's article links this other one, which explains everything that can be done in practice with today's tech and reads like science fiction : https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-ultra-selfish-gene/
    by benterris
  • Does anyone know if this is possible to DIY? I live in an area where dengue is endemic on a substantial land area and would be interested.
    by zhivota
  • The technology to eradicate Aedes mosquitoes exists. Time to use it ruthlessly. There's no good reason not to do it and at least a million reasons per year to do it.
    by yyyk
  • I've had Dengue fever, it's no joke, this is great news.

    I'm super prone to getting bitten so having to apply insect repellent and restrict myself to wearing certain clothes is such a pain.

    by Jackevansevo
  • Reminds me of the novel Everything is Tuberculosis, which explores the idea that we have a cure for the leading cause of death from infectious disease and "that the disease is no longer primarily caused by the bacteria, but instead by human choices."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Is_Tuberculosis

    by ortusdux
  • Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in over a million deaths. Mosquito-borne malaria has killed roughly 52 billion people (or half of the estimated 108–109 billion humans ever born).

    I'm shocked by how many people in the comments want to protect the mosquitoes because they may be playing some unknown role in some unknown ecosystem, which no scientist or researcher said is necessary (unlike bees). We've lost significant ecosystems and biodiversity. Over 99% of all species (5 billion) are extinct, we are fine, but we draw the line at a few species of mosquitoes out of 3600 species?

    Is it because Malaria, Dengue, Zika, Filariasis, West Nile are unheard of in Western countries? Because of climate change and changing weather patterns, warm environments and migration, it may soon come to a country near you. Probably not the brightest idea to be pro-mosquito.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_filariasis

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zika_fever

    https://www.pasteur.fr/en/whats-new/latest-news/news/which-m...

    by thelastgallon

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