So a short while ago I ignorantly popped off

Last updated on: February 4, 2015 at 12:33 am by Mark Shea

So a short while ago I ignorantly popped off 2015-02-03T21:38:56-07:00 Mark Shea

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

…about an experiment to try to crash the mosquito population in an area with a lot of mosquito-borne diseases. A reader sends along this reply from somebody involved in the project:

The work I am doing in the mosquito lab is related to the possibility of releasing mosquitoes into the Florida Keys and other areas.

Pretty much, the plan is to raise a lot of male mosquitoes that either have the equivalent of a mosquito sexually transmitted disease, or are genetically modified. Either way, the released males will mate with the wild females (Hopefully more than the wild males). The females will then lay eggs which will be inviable and will die before they become adults. This technique has been used to crash mosquito populations in Brazil and other parts of the Caribbean. The male mosquitoes that are released are not capable of biting people since only females will bite. Therefore there is no chance of them spreading disease or biting people.

In the lab, we are doing research on mosquito reproduction. Once a male mates with a female, her hormones change and she will probably never mate again. This is good if these modified males are released, since every time they mate with a female she will not mate with a wild type male. Our research focuses on the fact that in some special cases a female will mate several times. If we know how many times this can happen, it can help us release the correct number of male mosquitoes to crash the population.
I hope this all makes sense. If you have any other questions, I would love to answer them. In addition, I know people who could, if I cannot.

Given my own criticisms of people mouthing off about the science of vaccination based on half-baked internet junk, it seemed particularly obligatory for me to retract and apologize for my stupid remarks. Listen to people who actually know what they are talking about, not dumb loudmouths like me.

Uncategorized

Mea Culpa

Previous Post

February 4, 2015

84% of Americans would ban abortion...

Next Post

February 4, 2015 Holocaust Survivor...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 September 2006 June 2006 July 2005 April 2005 May 2002 April 2002 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz