Science & Technology

Inside the Plan to Release Life-Saving Mosquitoes | WIRED

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District is turning towards a novel tool to combat harmful insecticide-resistant mosquitoes like the Aedes aegypti. What are they doing exactly? They’re releasing millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes engineered to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti. How exactly does this work? We’ll break it down. Still haven’t subscribed to…

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The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District is turning towards a novel tool to combat harmful insecticide-resistant mosquitoes like the Aedes aegypti. What are they doing exactly? They’re releasing millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes engineered to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti. How exactly does this work? We’ll break it down.

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94 Comments

  1. ROVER25X

    June 10, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    Have they not watched Mimic? BRUH………………….

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:09 pm

      Lol

  2. Record.Retake .Repeat

    June 10, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    What if these mosquitoes rapidly evolve and reproduce asexually? And if their population is reduced significantly, doesn’t it impact the predators that depend on them? Thus leading to disruption in the eco system?

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      There aren’t any species that are dependent on mosquito’s, every single one of them have alternative food sources that will only grow if you get rid of mosquito’s.

  3. Geoffrey W

    June 10, 2022 at 6:43 pm

    This might be new to you guys, but it’s NOWHERE CLOSE to new to me. The fact that my uncle isn’t in this video proves WIRED could only interview amateurs…

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      Lmao you’re funny

  4. Janet F

    June 10, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    I still remember actually clapping my hands when I first heard the news story of the launch in Brazil👏

  5. EyesFullOfWonder :O

    June 10, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    I know no animal completly depends on mosquitoes but removing a food source for an ecosytem already damaged seems like a bad idea.

  6. NikDer529

    June 10, 2022 at 6:53 pm

    It is ingenious that these people are trying to resolve this problem that way, but we should ask ourselves whether messing with the genes of a species could bring more harm than good. What happens for example if the research in the lab is incomplete and the new species is too vulnerable and this eventually leads to a disruption in the ecosystem as “Record.Retake .Repeat” stated? I am still insure as to whether we should experiment on something we don’t fully understand in the face of nature. That aside, the video was great and enriching for me.

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:03 pm

      You think that these people who’ve been doing biological sciences for many, many years now haven’t thought of that?

  7. Melissa Sullivan

    June 10, 2022 at 7:12 pm

    I’m in research and this idea still freaks me out. I’d want to see the long term model about how the rest of the animal kingdom could be effected. Mosquito larvae is the food for many species, and I worry reducing the gene population would lead to more vulnerabilities for these animal species. 😕

    (That said, as a gardener I absolutely love fighting pests with pests vs chemicals. So, good job guys.)

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      It’s a good food source, but they aren’t dependent, maybe some bugs will die because they weren’t able to find food where mosquito larva’s would’ve been, but at the same time just “removing” all mosquito’s leaves place for many other bugs to take their place, bugs that don’t kill 30% of the human population.

    • Neon Tetraploid

      June 10, 2022 at 10:22 pm

      They’re doing this to ONE non native species of mosquito. The ecosystem evolved without Aedes aegypti. It’ll be fine without them

    • Infinite Monkey

      June 10, 2022 at 11:13 pm

      @Neon Tetraploid Yea, but some creatures have adapted to them being here. I think it’s an awesome project but releasing a gmo can have unintended consequences. I guess we’ll see if it’s better than pesticides.

    • Kreenick

      June 11, 2022 at 1:04 am

      Affected*

  8. qam2024

    June 10, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    Use this on Ticks next. Mosquitoes at least needed for the ecosystem, ticks serve no useful purpose (there are no Oxpecker equivalent in the Americas) so please wipe them off the face of the earth.

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:06 pm

      Mosquitoes aren’t needed for any ecosystems though.

  9. F?СК МЕ. ТАР ОN MY РIC

    June 10, 2022 at 7:56 pm

    It is ingenious that these people are trying to resolve this problem that way, but we should ask ourselves whether messing with the genes of a species could bring more harm than good. What happens for example if the research in the lab is incomplete and the new species is too vulnerable and this eventually leads to a disruption in the ecosystem as “Record.Retake .Repeat” stated? I am still insure as to whether we should experiment on something we don’t fully understand in the face of nature. That aside, the video was great and enriching for me.

  10. Mark Edis

    June 10, 2022 at 8:17 pm

    But can you get rid of the Scottish biting midge?

  11. Nurse Jean

    June 10, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    This is just a bad idea all around

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:05 pm

      How so?

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:47 pm

      @Nurse Jean How do you expect those questions to be answered without testing (Although some/most can be answered with logical reasoning)

    • Nurse Jean

      June 10, 2022 at 11:42 pm

      @Astrovation Test away but keep it out of the environment and in a lab

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 11:46 pm

      @Nurse Jean There have been many test in the lab already though

  12. sueque 63

    June 10, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    Using the claim of a reducing one organism by offering a solution with a genetically modified organism? Yeah nothing could go wrong here 😂

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  14. Dave Lhamid

    June 10, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    I hate mosquitoes 😩

  15. Stefan Norman

    June 10, 2022 at 8:39 pm

    Do this everywhere on earth although it might lead to the extinction of mosquitoes lol

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:04 pm

      That’s not something bad

  16. Liam Schmeit

    June 10, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    Wow

  17. Alexander Paul

    June 10, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    This doesn’t feel right

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:05 pm

      It is.

  18. DeeTheBomb

    June 10, 2022 at 9:11 pm

    I have those electric squatters in my car so whenever I see a group of bugs flying in an area i just run through it

  19. TDeB

    June 10, 2022 at 9:31 pm

    “Butterfly effect.”

  20. Enrique Isaacs

    June 10, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    thats just wrong bruv..

    • Astrovation

      June 10, 2022 at 10:04 pm

      no

  21. Astrovation

    June 10, 2022 at 10:18 pm

    The possibilities are endless! The incredible amounts of (human) lives that could be saved, future diseases that can be prevented and the fact that no one is even dependent on mosquitoes means no one will miss them.

  22. a cloud.

    June 10, 2022 at 10:58 pm

    i don’t think people realise that genetically modified organisms have been around for centuries.

  23. Red Hadoken

    June 10, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    I hate mosquitoes

  24. moonwater

    June 10, 2022 at 11:38 pm

    How the h@ll do people figure out all this science madness!!?? 🤯

  25. Mary Rose Kent

    June 11, 2022 at 1:25 am

    Horrible, vocal fry…unwatchable!

  26. Izzy May IS ready

    June 11, 2022 at 3:23 am

    Summary: Mosquito genocide thru genetic modification. Seems like we should try to engineer an additional advantage in the males, such as better flight ability or something else, so they are more attractive than the unmodified ones. That would give them a breeding advantage and raise the chance of the control effort’s success.

  27. Julia Cora

    June 11, 2022 at 3:23 am

    I have those electric squatters in my car so whenever I see a group of bugs flying in an area i just run through it

  28. vBucks Giveaway

    June 11, 2022 at 3:23 am

    The possibilities are endless! The incredible amounts of (human) lives that could be saved, future diseases that can be prevented and the fact that no one is even dependent on mosquitoes means no one will miss them.

  29. Hampus Brokmann

    June 11, 2022 at 3:24 am

    Wow they Lie so hard in this video 🤥

  30. vBucks Giveaway

    June 11, 2022 at 3:26 am

    I have those electric squatters in my car so whenever I see a group of bugs flying in an area i just run through it

  31. vBucks Giveaway

    June 11, 2022 at 3:30 am

    How the h@ll do people figure out all this science madness!!?? 🤯

  32. vBucks Giveaway

    June 11, 2022 at 3:33 am

    I remember hearing that the Mosquito’s Digestive System actually breaks down the HIV/AIDS, which is why it doesn’t spread whenever they feed between people. Don’t know if that was true or not, but this reminded me of that.

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    June 11, 2022 at 3:37 am

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  34. Phlegethon

    June 11, 2022 at 3:56 am

    Yes get rid of mosquitos asap it doesn’t matter the risks the risks of not doing it is bad

    • the game ranch

      June 12, 2022 at 6:43 am

      Bruh

  35. Saiya

    June 11, 2022 at 5:45 am

    some dominion shiet

  36. Equalizer

    June 11, 2022 at 7:28 am

    These are some of the dumbest most ignorant comments I’ve ever seen

  37. Tiro Mandal

    June 11, 2022 at 8:13 am

    YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! Have heard about the Brazil experiment years ago, orgasmic to know that it turned out that great! 95% is crazy! I thought even 70% would be great! And the Florida ones would be even more advanced, now it’s only a matter of a lil wait until the whole world gets rid of those killers for good!

  38. RDG

    June 11, 2022 at 9:33 am

    I’m thinking of mosquito burgers. Or at least entrap them and then use them as fertilizers.

  39. Mercutio

    June 11, 2022 at 10:01 am

    An incredible effort coming to fruition. It’ll be very interesting to see the results going forward.

  40. jin hyung

    June 11, 2022 at 10:40 am

    U.S. Military: How to weaponize this? Here have $10B for research.

  41. sa tan

    June 11, 2022 at 10:58 am

    I hate mosquitoes!!
    So i followed this experiment, when they were worried about the effects on the diet of the ecosystem
    And really i dont care. I hate them.
    I want to know if these genetically modified mosquitoes can somehow make it to South America if only released in florida?

  42. Nency-🔞T[A]P Me!! to Have [𝐒]𝐄𝐗 With 𝐌𝐞

    June 11, 2022 at 11:00 am

    An incredible effort coming to fruition. It’ll be very interesting to see the results going forward.

  43. beefy

    June 11, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Why just not wipe the mosquitoes

    • the game ranch

      June 12, 2022 at 6:42 am

      Because of something called “the ecosystem”

  44. Ethan Roberts

    June 11, 2022 at 12:14 pm

    So the world ends by genetically modified bugs 😂

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  46. Josh neibarger

    June 11, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    Very interesting but in the end this is nature” natural” and modified is not , obviously , always a reprocution of toying with nature , we just cant see the effect of this yet

  47. Josh neibarger

    June 11, 2022 at 2:28 pm

    I am not saying this isnt a brilliant idea but …

  48. Gijs Weierink

    June 11, 2022 at 3:46 pm

    Uh oh

  49. Ton Led

    June 11, 2022 at 11:21 pm

    im always wary when i hear the words “lab” and “release”…..i feel like this could be used for nefarious purposes…

  50. Don Chan

    June 12, 2022 at 2:22 am

    we need this mutant mosquitoes in the philippines.. denque are real problems here..

  51. Matt F

    June 12, 2022 at 2:46 am

    I find it very puzzling that we take no issue with possibly wiping out an entire species of mosquito over time, yet we often stop control of other pests because of its environmental effect on other species. Who decides which ones we decimate and which ones we save?

  52. Cyruss Tanola

    June 12, 2022 at 11:54 am

    This is basically the plot of Jurassic World Dominion but with locusts

  53. paddle hard

    June 12, 2022 at 9:23 pm

    There’s no way this will turn bad for humans in the end.

  54. Black fungus

    June 13, 2022 at 1:57 am

    if all mosquitoes die doesnt it affect the ecosystem balance or something like that?

  55. shurtak

    June 13, 2022 at 9:28 pm

    This has been used for some years already here in my city, I just don’t know the difference between the modified one and the normal one so I kill both

  56. Torian Cromar

    June 13, 2022 at 10:31 pm

    Ingenious

  57. zer0Bot

    June 14, 2022 at 4:44 am

    Isn’t true that the female mosquitos in Brazil didn’t entirely die and are now super mosquitos because the lab used strong ones in order to increase the breeding chances?

  58. Marcelo Camargo

    June 14, 2022 at 11:58 am

    still not a good title guys. try other thumbnail

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    June 14, 2022 at 12:58 pm

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  60. Jessica Johnston

    June 16, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    But, mosquitoes feed other animals in the enviroment, like birds and fish. How will they replace that missing link if they kill mosquitoes?

    • Kat.

      June 17, 2022 at 3:49 pm

      They kill a specific species. They do not remove them all. But yes as always when people meddle with stuff, the outcome is very unclear and hopefully nature is clever and produces another insect food source that’s not quite this annoying to humans.

  61. Line Ella

    June 17, 2022 at 8:05 am

    ive never been bitten by a mosquitoe. never & no one believes me. haha

  62. Kat.

    June 17, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    So ……. has anyone checked yet if animals who consume these modified mosquitoes get any problems? Cause playing with the modification of animals in eco systems has very often led to very undesired outcomes that we than had to counter with even more investment. :’3 And we’re known to have kept making it worse.

    I can only hope it’s one of those cases where sth. decent comes out of it. And no ugly side effects of then getting birds which do not have functional femals left etc.

    To be fair I heard mosquitoes may actually be a result of humans being there and dveloping due to habitats we created. Not sure how far this is true, but all life impacts the world. (and such does that which is not life)

  63. DuBaDuBeDu

    June 17, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    Fun fact: mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on earth. Well I mean humans are probably the deadliest animal but when referring to what animals kill the most people on earth its mosquitoes. Next in line is humans. We kill the 2nd most people on earth. Then it’s dogs. Stop fearing major predators (tigers, sharks, wolves, lions, bears etc) to extinction when they usually have no interest in killing us. Most of the time they try to avoid us, and will usually only fight us when they feel threatened, mistake u for a fish (sharks), or if they are protecting something (babies, territory etc).

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