Science Might Have The Answer To Kill Off Mosquitos
If you ask me this is more brilliant than my plan. My plan is to get a giant can of off and spray it around every city. Probably not the best plan.
This is a good plan, Science. In May, the conversation is reporting that Oxitec got an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release millions of GM mosquitoes (labeled by Oxitec as OX5034 because they are scientists who can't just name them Mosquito Killers) and hope that they can kill off other mosquitos.
This Summer in Florida and Texas these scientists are going to release these lab-bred GM male mosquitos and hope they mate with wild females, what happens is the offspring are born dead. If they do this enough, it should kill off a good share of the wild population.
Now, some say this is playing God to shape the world to man's dominance. Some say they are affecting the balance of nature. I say, sit in front of a fire with a beer by the woods and see how long it takes you to want them to bring some of these mosquitos to Minnesota or Wisconsin.
The Funny part is that the conversation reported that nothing has received more attention than mosquitos for genetic modification. (I would think food should be modified to make more food.) Then I read on to see this has benefits for the hundreds of millions of people impacted by diseases passed by mosquitos.
The article in the conversation says it's not that easy because the EPA approved the permit for Oxitec, state approval is still required. So, there is more time needed, but I think this could provide benefits. I don't know what part of the ecosystem mosquitos are, other than just pests that reproduce.