Wolbachia is one of the most fascinating and scariest life forms on earth
Why so?
It's a parasite that lives inside the cells of the host (if you can call it a parasite)
Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
11–20 of 37 posts
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#12Uhhh has no one in Singapore played MGSV?
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#13Truly a fascinating method. Apparently, the most effective mosquito population control technique. The counter-point argument offered at the end of the article/video is totally lame. I find it slightly annoying when journos feel compelled to seek contrarian positions just for the sake of form, regardless of the quality of the arguments.
For the counter-point to be meaningful, people would have to individually kill a lot of mosquitoes. Made me wonder, what fraction of mosquitoes are killed by humans in a city setting? I'd guess it's very small. 1/1000? Has anyone tried to measure this?
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#14Truly a fascinating method. Apparently, the most effective mosquito population control technique. The counter-point argument offered at the end of the article/video is totally lame. I find it slightly annoying when journos feel compelled to seek contrarian positions just for the sake of form, regardless of the quality of the arguments.
For the counter-point to be meaningful, people would have to individually kill a lot of mosquitoes. Made me wonder, what fraction of mosquitoes are killed by humans in a city setting? I'd guess it's very small. 1/1000? Has anyone tried to measure this?
I too am curious, but I think it's way, way more than you're guessing. I imagine humans are the single biggest threat to mosquitoes in a city (and also the single biggest source of sustenance).
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#15Truly a fascinating method. Apparently, the most effective mosquito population control technique. The counter-point argument offered at the end of the article/video is totally lame. I find it slightly annoying when journos feel compelled to seek contrarian positions just for the sake of form, regardless of the quality of the arguments.
Yeah. The journalist labels Paul Tambiyah as an infectious disease professor (which he is), but also forgets to mention he is an opposition politician who will literally oppose anything for the sake of opposing.
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#16Truly a fascinating method. Apparently, the most effective mosquito population control technique. The counter-point argument offered at the end of the article/video is totally lame. I find it slightly annoying when journos feel compelled to seek contrarian positions just for the sake of form, regardless of the quality of the arguments.
For the counter-point to be meaningful, people would have to individually kill a lot of mosquitoes. Made me wonder, what fraction of mosquitoes are killed by humans in a city setting? I'd guess it's very small. 1/1000? Has anyone tried to measure this?
Direct kills are probably pretty marginal, but Singapore employs insecticides in prodigious quantities. It's almost eerie how eg hawker centres have no flies and outdoor gardens are almost entirely devoid of insects (whereas if you cross the border to Malaysia, both can be found in abundance).
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#17"in rare cases" My mom nearly died to Dengue fever. Twice. This shit is incredibly dangerous.
Dengue is odd in that surviving an attack of one strain makes you immune to that strain, but increases the odds of getting severe complications if you catch one of the other ones. Which is which dengue vaccine is only recommended for people who have already had it once!
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
For the counter-point to be meaningful, people would have to individually kill a lot of mosquitoes. Made me wonder, what fraction of mosquitoes are killed by humans in a city setting? I'd guess it's very small. 1/1000? Has anyone tried to measure this?
Direct kills are probably pretty marginal, but Singapore employs insecticides in prodigious quantities. It's almost eerie how eg hawker centres have no flies and outdoor gardens are almost entirely devoid of insects (whereas if you cross the border to Malaysia, both can be found in abundance).
Huh. Does Singapore not need insect pollinators?
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#19"in rare cases" My mom nearly died to Dengue fever. Twice. This shit is incredibly dangerous.
Dengue is odd in that surviving an attack of one strain makes you immune to that strain, but increases the odds of getting severe complications if you catch one of the other ones. Which is which dengue vaccine is only recommended for people who have already had it once!
Oh shit, this explains why my mom got severely sick on her second round.
Re: Singapore rears moquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to combat dengue
#20Truly a fascinating method. Apparently, the most effective mosquito population control technique. The counter-point argument offered at the end of the article/video is totally lame. I find it slightly annoying when journos feel compelled to seek contrarian positions just for the sake of form, regardless of the quality of the arguments.
It's an extra-lame counterpoint because male mosquitos don't bite, and they're only releasing males.