# Modified Mosquitos - Yea or Nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 20, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526 "2020-08-20T00:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/1 "2020-08-20T00:25:49Z")
So Florida is planning on releasing 750m mosquitos in the wild to stop the Egyptian female variety from reaching maturity. The goal is to reduce bites and the spread of diseases like dengue and zika. Critics call it an unnecessary Jurassic Park experiment that could result in badness. But the company claims a good track record with supposed successes in Brazil, Panama and Antarctica. Anyone have an opinion on this issue? 250k Floridans are against the GMO mosquito. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/2 "2020-08-20T01:56:26Z")
I saw an article about this and was afraid it was going to be about [gene drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive). That scares me. This doesn’t and the technology has the promise of eventually eliminating insect borne diseases that kill millions annually. I hope the experiment goes forward and is successful. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/3 "2020-08-20T05:42:19Z")
These are the GM Oxitec mosquitoes. The same ones were used to great success in my former neighborhood in Cayman. Overall it worked and was self limiting. It helped stamp out a spreading incidence of Chikungunya there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/4 "2020-08-20T13:56:35Z")
I think they should do it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/5 "2020-08-20T14:01:51Z")
What’s the existing population of mosquitoes in the area where they’ll be released? 750 million doesn’t sound like very much, to me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/6 "2020-08-20T14:03:50Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Critics call it an unnecessary Jurassic Park experiment that could result in badness. But the company claims a good track record with supposed successes in Brazil, Panama and Antarctica. Maybe calling it a sting operation was a mistake. 😐 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/7 "2020-08-20T14:41:42Z")
Touché. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/8 "2020-08-20T17:55:24Z")
Paging **mozchron**. I believe this poster has knowledge about this topic and can share thoughts on how risky this really may be. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/9 "2020-08-20T19:54:01Z")
I think you can @ people here and they get a notice – @mozchron I’m for this, if it can be done safely. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/10 "2020-08-20T19:55:46Z")
What kind of question is that? I would drive person-biting mosquitoes to extinction if I could. They’re horrible, blood sucking creatures that spread disease, give you itchy bites, and that have generally been a plague on mankind for millennia. Releasing the modified mosquitoes is basically a ploy to drive down populations by introducing a sort that doesn’t effectively produce offspring, but that are otherwise perfectly viable for mating purposes. In general, the opposition to it is the same knee-jerk fear of science that you see with GMO food- “we don’t KNOW! Science is scary!”, because they don’t know about the genetic modification aspects. We know that the sterile insect technique is sound though. > **[Sterile insect technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_technique)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of biological insect control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released into the wild. The released insects are preferably male, as this is more cost-effective and the females may in some situations cause damage by laying eggs in the crop, or, in the case of mosquitoes, taking blood from humans. The sterile males compete with fertile males to mate with the females. Females that mate w... ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/11 "2020-08-20T19:57:14Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But the company claims a good track record with supposed successes in Brazil, Panama and Antarctica. There’s a mosquito problem in Antarctica?! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/12 "2020-08-20T20:03:37Z")
Just seeing who was reading closely. There are probably unpredictable problems with this sort of thing, along with more predictable concerns like the populations of things that eat mosquitos. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/13 "2020-08-20T20:07:24Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > There’s a mosquito problem in Antarctica?! Not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/14 "2020-08-20T20:11:56Z")
Here is what I wrote on this topic 5 years ago. My opinion hasn’t changed. This is a good idea. > [@GMO Mosquitos - what say you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmo-mosquitos-what-say-you/711361/10): > > This is my primary research area. Been working on GM mosquito and similar strategies for the last (almost) 17 years. There are a number of GM and GM-like vector-borne disease control strategies currently being tested in the field. This is the Oxitech version, called “Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal”, or RIDL. It was developed by my my colleague Dr. Luke Alphey at Oxford University way back in 2000(in fruit flies, took a few more years to get it to work in mosquitoes). Luke started… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/15 "2020-08-20T20:21:14Z")
I’m deeply satisfied by the similarity in thread titles then and now. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/16 "2020-08-21T03:14:14Z")
According to what I read, if I am not mistaken, this technique adds a bit to the standard sterile insect technique. In this case, the female, human-biting, offspring do not survive, but the males do and carry the trait into the next generation. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/17 "2020-08-21T16:31:19Z")
Normally I believe in protecting biodiversity, but as far as I’m concerned, all mosquitoes need to die. Kill them all and let God sort it out. 750 million GMO mosquitoes making their brethren infertile is just a good start. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/18 "2020-08-23T00:31:36Z")
Yes. Actually, the female-specific lethal strategy was the original idea when this was first developed in the lab 20 years ago. But they decided that for the first releases it would be better if everything was sterile. In addition to being more effective, female-specific lethality also makes it much cheaper to implement, as you can sex them by withholding the suppression drug (tetracycline) instead of mechanically separating. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/19 "2020-08-23T19:51:08Z")
There are two different things in question. Is this about releasing sterile mosquitoes? In that case I say no big deal. Or is it a gene drive? That is a different story. But even so it will not wipe out all mosquitoes, only one species. Much as I hate mosquitoes, I am not convinced we want to wipe them all out. But all anopheles mosquitoes? I just don’t see any downside. I cannot imagine any monovore species whose only prey is anopheles mosquitoes and the latter are responsible for more human deaths than any other species (more precisely genus) around. So yes, I approve. For the people who say, oh, oh, GMO, we can’t allow that, I say may you qualify for a Darwin award. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526/20 "2020-08-23T20:32:02Z")
I remember seeing this on TV as a kid in the sixties. I thought “sterilizing flies” meant ridding them of germs, like a sterile hospital room. Nobody would explain it to me. We kept 'em stupid about reproduction in those days, just like God intended. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modified-mosquitos-yea-or-nay/918526.md?page=2)