Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
1–10 of 17 posts
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#2There is a very good RadioLab episode on these 'good' mosquitos: http://www.radiolab.org/story/kill-em-all/
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#3My first reaction was, "Gee, what could possibly go wrong?". Eep. But apparently there is some good science behind this?
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#4Didn't we already try an experiment like this with bees a few years back?
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#5My first reaction was, "Gee, what could possibly go wrong?". Eep. But apparently there is some good science behind this?
I thought it was going to be a breed of mosquito that couldn't/wouldn't bite humans. doh...
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#6I'd like to see a recall.
"Oops, something went awfully wrong"
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#7>The researchers allowed the mosquitoes to feed on their own arms for five years because of concerns at the time Wolbachia could infect humans and domestic animals.
i could only applaud. Seriously. I'm against animal testing, and i think human species should carry the burden of what it does for its own benefit and as result it would be forced to do it responsibly.
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#8> The bacterium Wolbachia is found in 60% of insects. It acts like a vaccine for the mosquito which carries dengue, Aedes aegypti, stopping the dengue virus multiplying in its body.
> Wolbachia also has an effect on reproduction. If a contaminated male fertilises the eggs of a female without the bacteria, these eggs do not turn into larvae.
Wait, so 60% of male mosquitos are effectively sterile?
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#9> The bacterium Wolbachia is found in 60% of insects. It acts like a vaccine for the mosquito which carries dengue, Aedes aegypti, stopping the dengue virus multiplying in its body. > Wolbachia also has an effect on reproduction. If a contaminated male fertilises the eggs of a female without the bacteria, these eggs do not turn into larvae. Wait, so 60% of male mosquitos are effectively sterile?
It says that if a contaminated male fertilizes the eggs of a female without the bacteria, these eggs do not turn into larvae.
That implies that eggs of a female with the bacteria fertilized by a male that also has the bacteria can develop normally. So, assuming the 60% infection rate applies to male and female mosquitos, 60% of males cannot fertilize the eggs of 40% of females due to the bacteria, or about 25% of male/female combinations are incompatible due to this effect.
Re: Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever
#10My first reaction was, "Gee, what could possibly go wrong?". Eep. But apparently there is some good science behind this?
I thought it was going to be a breed of mosquito that couldn't/wouldn't bite humans. doh...
Female mosquitoes must feed on blood to be able to reproduce so engineering a bite-free mosquito is impossible.