"On August 30, residents of a neighborhood in Key West, Florida, will head to the polls to vote on a referendum that would kick off genetically modified mosquito testing in the Keys. While the vote is non-binding, the majority of the district’s board of commissioners say they will adhere to the outcome of the vote, The Key West Citizen reports.
The testing, which would be run by British biotech company Oxitec, would involve releasing about 3 million male mosquitos on a semi-isolated peninsula north of Key West over the course of 22 months."
With all the failures we've seen in controlling ticks and TB diseases, if they could genetically modify ticks would you be for that or against it?
Posted by duncan (Member # 46242) on :
"Ixodes Scapularis Park", coming soon to a theater near you.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
It is my understanding that antibiotics in water (mostly from agricultural run-off from factory farms) may render the sterility of these GMO mosquitos less effective.
My personal opinion is we should stop trying to genetically engineer any plant, animal or human without fully understanding the environmental, health and financial consequences long-term.
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
I am not much into genetically modifying any organism, but I think I might make an exception for the tick.
I worry more about people getting Lyme than Zika.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I don't think it's a good idea to gmo anything...we have no idea of the consequences...
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
DUNCON: !!!! that is just too funny!
but... not.
hey, why isn't there a Laughing graemlin??????
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
didn't read it yet, but how would they wrangle them all together if the experiment failed???
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
why didn't they use this forever ago if it will kill off the mosquito population? like where my parents live there is such contamination from all the bug spraying for mosquitoes there. I know playing "God" some people are against that, and I don't really like this whole idea, but why now?
makes me wonder.
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
Can't kill off all mosquitos. Need to leave enough for the food web of life.
Posted by bluelyme (Member # 47170) on :
4 of 10 skitos has borellia already says dr k...does florida not have enough skitos?...now gmo zika ,morgellons mrsa and borreliosis into super super bug
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
I see these gmo bugs killing off all the 'real' ones and this is how they will all be destroyed. so spraying or gmo-ing... this way is just more certain . totally.
Posted by MADDOG (Member # 18) on :
They need to just stop chems and modified crap!!
We wouldent have Lyme if our immune systems were not destroyed by farm and yard chems.
Oh but they just can't stand a weed in their yard.
But a destroyed immune system is ok.
And joe farmer just can't plow and disk it would work him to hard.
So dump on the chems and kill everything on the planet.