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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Great Balls of Fire! Scientists create GM mosquitoes that fire blanks |
| 2005-10-10 |
| Genetically modified mosquitoes could soon be released into the wild in an attempt to combat malaria. Scientists at Imperial College London, who created the GM insects, say they could wipe out natural mosquito populations and save thousands of lives in malaria-stricken regions. Led by Andrea Crisanti, the team added a gene that makes the testicles of the male mosquitoes fluorescent, allowing the scientists to distinguish and easily separate them from females. The plan is to breed, sterilise and release millions of these male insects so they mate with wild females but produce no offspring, eradicating insects in the target region within weeks. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #8 Yeah, the methods used may have, over time, an unintended effect of increasing the size and aggressiveness of the species - read, [human] blood-sucking GIANT buggers, with all the reputation and attack frenzies of Africanized bees. DANG BETTER MAKE SURE THEIR RESEARCH IS D*** THOROUGH AND CORRECT A'FORE DOING ANYTWANG!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-10-10 22:38 |
| #7 Wouldn't sterile females be better? You can use yout imagination as to what might be usefully made fluorescent on girl mosquitoes... |
| Posted by: Iblis 2005-10-10 13:12 |
| #6 I wonder if these guys are working on a GM solution to the killer bee population here in the Western Hemisphere? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-10 11:14 |
| #5 LOL 2b, got the joke now. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-10 09:38 |
| #4 The plan is to breed, sterilise breed, sterilise ... ... hmmmm? Does anyone else see a problem here? Well, if they get the technology down, florescent guys don't need to be gay. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-10 07:38 |
| #3 "Look, Daddy, fireflies!" "Ummmm, no son, not exactly....let's go inside and watch TV." Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-10-10 07:33 |
| #2 Clever idea, but of course the mosquitoes from the next region over would gradually diffuse into the mosquito-free regions, unless the target region is really, really big. Still, anything is better than the current situation. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-10 06:35 |
| #1 Fluorescent testicles open up all sorts of erhem! possibilities. I can see them being a BIG hit at gay bathhouses. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-10-10 04:52 |