What If We Killed All the Mosquitoes?
With the Zika virus in the news, some people have wondered why we don’t just kill them ALL.
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Sources:
History of War against Mosquitoes/DDT
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a/box/1.html
http://www.panna.org/resources/ddt-story
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ddt-use-to-combat-malaria/
Ecological Impacts
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1815/20151549
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/aedes_communis.shtml
Zika Mosquito
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/index.html
http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11605&Itemid=0&lang=en
RNA Molecular Pesticide (killing)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18533434?dopt=Abstract&holding=npg
Transgenic Male Mosquitoes — self-limiting gene, kills offspring (killing)
http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0003864
http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0003999
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-insects-gmo-idUSKBN0U000820151217
http://www.oxitec.com/faqs/
Transgenic Mosquitoes — gene drive, Anopheles (resistance to parasite)
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/49/E6736
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-malaria-20151121-story.html
http://www.nature.com/news/gene-drive-mosquitoes-engineered-to-fight-malaria-1.18858#/b2
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/11/gene-drive-turns-insects-malaria-fighters
Wolbachia — bacteria infection, Aedes (resistance to virus)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-tiny-bacterium-called-wolbachia-could-defeat-dengue/
http://www.eliminatedengue.com/our-research/wolbachia
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23133693
Wolbachia Parasite Superinfection — preventing potential viral resistance http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2016-02/p-wps021116.php
https://www.plos.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ppat-12-2-Joubert.pdf
Images:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aedes_aegypti_CDC-Gathany.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anopheles_stephensi.jpeg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolbachia.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skeetlrg.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DDT_Powder.jpg
source