What If We Killed Every Mosquito On Earth?

What would happen if mosquitoes went extinct? And could this new mosquito eradicate disease? Some brilliant scientists have made all of this possible.
Special thanks to Dr. Scott O'Neill and the World Mosquito Program for their help.
Written by: Mitchell Moffit
Edited by: Luka Šarlija
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Sources and Further Reading:
www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/
www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/...
www.nature.com/articles/466432a

[@genericplantlife]

I got hospitalized with dengue some years back, and I have a childhood friend who died of dengue. Personally, I wouldn't mind a mosquito eradication.

[@GetFitEatRight]

Just those 200 types. Yes please. I'm so sick of getting destroyed every summer.

[@dpmjmun]

I got so afraid when my mom got it. It's been 10 years already but i remember being so scared

[@colorpg152]

so I'm supposed to get a thousand mosquito bites because of you?

[@genericplantlife]

@@dpmjmun It was definitely scary. And so needless too because what niches do those types of mosquitoes even fill that no other insect can fill?

[@starrybrowneyes]

Same story with me. My former schoolmate was younger than me and he passed away from dengue when I had it too. I've also had malaria in childhood so it's safe to say I hate mosquitoes with a passion.

[@georgiegan]

Scientists: I used the disease to destroy the disease.

[@soyanshumohapatra]

Yo

[@Nate-.-]

Or bacterial infection to reduce the risk of virus transmission. Nice try, though 👏

[@misspineapple553]

@@Nate-.-lol what a fun person you must be

[@Nate-.-]

@misspineapple553 what? Hell no. You dont know me!

[@someguy6152]

​@@Nate-.-Point proven, both are intenet jokes, first is an End Game meme, Thanos:"I used the stones to destroy the stones". The second is a reference to being a "party pooper" by taking a joke too seriously, hence being not fun at parties.

[@OneManBassoonBand]

My dad was killed by West Nile Virus he caught from a mosquito bite - would not be sad to see every single mosquito in the world eradicated

[@MrHarshverdhan]

Will FK up natural cycle

[@thejoeman4774]

​@@MrHarshverdhandude in the video literally explained it wouldnt change much...

[@Neven2468]

Bullshit

[@acordacorda]

@@MrHarshverdhanidiot

[@stephenc8596]

@@Neven2468ya bro would just make up his dad dying

[@baliroads]

I’m currently laying here in a hospital bed. For the past 4 days I’ve getting over high feavers because I got dengue… your video is good timing on my feed

[@phasein5413]

Good luck mate. Rooting for your recovery

[@zure9295]

Good luck mate, had it about 2-3 months ago and the headaches were horrible, it does get better after 1-2 weeks though

[@clawinx]

Me too! Hope you are better

[@UraniumWolfy]

Did you die

[@UraniumWolfy]

Did you die

[@Alfiy_Wolf]

Bro, a bug factory? I didn’t know we were allowed to be super villains now, Ight time to build a death Ray

[@United_Wings]

😅

[@russellzauner]

*styropyro has entered chat*

[@Huachimingo97]

There's already a guy that built a solar death ray on his yard

[@marisaelslove]

Dude fruit flies have beeeen bred to be infertile and mate with other fruit flies. It's nothing new to do something to insects in order to control their populations or negative effects on humans.

[@sarasij1477]

The UK already has that

[@leonardsalt]

"Primarily by spreading disease" - I'm scared to learn what their secondary method is

[@mobilemcsmarty1466]

since you asked, forgive me if it's scary.. it's blood loss. in some parts of the world mosquitoes swarm and come at you in thick clouds. animals young, weak, or can't escape are literally sucked dry ☠

[@justsomenightowl7220]

@@mobilemcsmarty1466wtf 😰😰😰

[@leonardsalt]

@mobilemcsmarty1466 I said I was scared man :(

[@rr.studios]

​@@mobilemcsmarty1466 What the f*ck???

[@beelunder8433]

I already knew that due to watching a documentary on caribou and it mentioned how some of the calves are literally bled dry. Nature's horrifying sometimes.

[@noisypr6048]

I was diagnosed with Chikungunya in 2015 and I've never been the same since, I develop a rare case of osteocondritis in my right ankle and left me unable to use my foot for two weeks and after the virus was gone the condition remained, making my ankle to swell and hurt really bad to the point where I couldn't firm my foot to the floor. Bare In mind I was 15 back then so my body still was developing and body cells are healthier. In the end after many MRI and many orthopedic doctor opinions, I got surgeries in 2021, 6 years later and the condition has disappeared ever since. The virus truly changed my everyday life. From doing sports everyday for hours to barely an hour before I had to take a rest because of my ankle. I'm grateful this matter is being tackled because I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I did almost 10 years ago.

[@manuelaguirre1062]

Doctor yourself website

[@vlotty9]

Really sorry that you are experiencing this. We’re now learning that it’s possible that these kinds of post-acute sequelae are common for any viral illness- COVID has brought this to the forefront. There is some possibility that the research into long COVID might help find treatments for a range of post viral illnesses. But until then, the only way to prevent these issues is to prevent getting infected by COVID or other viruses as much as possible. (Clean air, N95 masks, ventilation, anti-mosquito clothing/lotions, mosquito nets)

[@amodmishra3030]

Take care bud

[@graciegj63]

I've heard that bee venom is being used as a medicinal to reduce things like swelling and arthritis.

[@xiii0722]

Damn, and yep good point. Thank you for sharing

[@siddharthkrishna9418]

You fooled me with the click-bait 😭. I was really expecting to know what if there are no mosquitoes

[@blastdahero2976]

Ikr

[@macp349]

Same. Didn't answer the question

[@b.ibrazda9037]

At the start he said it wouldn't have much effect in humans and most animals

[@protion_2312]

He literally answered at the beginning

[@dustyclink1468]

I'm a senior in high-school, when I first heard about this story I was in 7th grade doing a research project on mosquitoes. I'm really glad the plan is actually starting to take shape, hopefully it can go global and these pests can be a thing of the past. Literally just flying used needles, goodbye measles!

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

There's a reason they've been going VERY slowly. There's a giant risk of there's something we fail to foresee. But they've spent years checking everything they possibly can and it seems shockingly safe.

[@xter7856]

Not literally.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@xter7856 Check the dictionary. The word "literally" has been used wrong so much, the definition has literally (by the old definition) changed.

[@xter7856]

@@Sam_on_KZbin I didn't want to believe it, but you're right. They did add and acknowledge the informal definition of literally to the dictionary. I'm going to need some time to cope.

[@me-df9re]

Not "LITERALLY" 🤦‍♂, stop using that word in "LITERALLY" every sentence.

[@gilangperdiansyah5693]

As someone who caught dengue fever in pandemic. Hearing this is very relieving. In my family, only my mom that has not caught dengue fever. Hope it stays that way

[@newperve]

Good news! It's not COVID, bad news....

[@charlesbrill5355]

Mosquitos are pollinators, and part of the food chain for fishes, birds and some animals. They probably wouldn't haver evolved if they didn't do more good than harm.

[@Cra3ier]

Good news, you get immunity after getting dengue; bad news, you are prone to 3 more mosquitoes dengue 😅

[@Aynshtaynn]

"In my family, only my mom has not caught Dengue fever. Hope it stays that way." So you wish your children and grandchildren catches it, therefore your mother will stay the only one that hasn't? That's terrible.

[@alpha0090]

@@Cra3ier and believe me your 2nd -4th gets exponentially worse. If you ever reach that 4th strain you'd be lucky if you don't get any organ failures, that's if you live ofcoarse.

[@ejgomez231]

Interesting study. Next, you should do a video on what would happen if we killed every mosquito on Earth.

[@TheDeadGunslinger]

There are already videos talking about this. It would actually change very little.

[@sendicard]

@@TheDeadGunslingerTheir joke is that the video is called that but isn't about that. They're saying next time they should do what they claim they're doing. I laughed.

[@protion_2312]

He literally answered at the beginning

[@bluesghostd794]

He literally said “A study shows that not much would happen”

[@sendicard]

Right, right, and if I call you a gentleman and then spend 8 paragraphs insulting you, I get to title a video about it "I complimented a guy!" without anyone feeling mislead?

[@gabriellbeltrame]

I had hemorrhagic dengue in 2016, spent a full week hospitalized. If this program achieve success it'll be an awesome thing

[@Hydrologist]

This is Nobel prize stuff, THIS IS A HUGE DEAL

[@greenmeancoolmachine]

Lol

[@DzzO]

It sure is. The amount of deaths it will prevent. This could be game changing for the global south.

[@natalieharoldsen3494]

I just wished it helped combat the real mosquito transmitted killer- Malaria.

[@bedobabado3824]

Naive

[@weltschmerzistofthaufig2440]

@@bedobabado3824 Why is that?

[@pedrobaofi]

Bro, i was watching from Brazil and when you said that mosquitos are the deadliest animal on earth i just heared one in mu ear, my soul left oit pf my body

[@ChineduOpara]

Well go get it back, bro... you need it in order to get into heaven!

[@MasonOBrien-lc5mq]

😂😂

[@callyral]

Passa repelente

[@darkigor20]

We learn this in school man, come on😊

[@Nick-mp1zh]

Glad you put this video out, I’m not sure when I ever would have heard of this project otherwise. This is an incredibly cool thing they’re doing

[@shoyusuki8687]

I hope that this can continue to help people. I had a relative that was brought to the ICU because of a severe dengue and I would say it was one of the lowest point in my life because of stress, on top of that I was also hospitalized at the same time because of mild dengue fever as well.

[@MJH72996]

Metal Gear Solid 5 explored the idea of Modified Wolbachia spreading through vocal chords. Good to hear that in the real world it's being used for good

[@RE3254]

All of Brazil is about to pick up learning 1 or 2 extra languages, just in case

[@Fraunzi]

If you remove the soldiers that speak kikongo you don’t get an outbreak on mother base (that’s as the infected language)

[@St0RM33]

A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR

[@masterbertgamma]

Also in MGS V, there is an attack by a rival PMC led by a soldier with call-sign "Mosquito". Coincidence?!

[@mozermzr3186]

Came here for that comment. Bring out old talker !

[@djse]

They did that in New Caledonia in 2019 (on a way smaller scale, probably when it was still an experiment) and it totally work, going from 3000-4000 case of dengue each year to 2 in 2022 (which were imported by tourist who came back from Bali). The bad side is that for people around the mosquitos drop, you got more mosquitos around you, they can still bite you (whitout anymore risk though) and it's advised to not kill them as they are suposed to overtake the regular mosquitos population. But it's just a little bad moment that can avoid worst moment after that :)

[@Jeffman98765]

I was diagnosed with dengue/fever when I was around 10 years old (around 2009), in Medellin, Colombia (Aburra Valley) the same place where this video talked about. I have been able to see first hand the declines of dengue related sickness and deaths. The mosquito program has been an incredible and clever way to stop the spread of this virus, often affecting low income families.

[@degreeskelvin3025]

As someone prone to mosquito bites living in a malaria infected country, ive been waiting for the mosquito-pocalypse my whole life.

[@natrium0_0]

I live in brazil and i hope demgue rates go down but also, i dont wanna have billions of extra mosquitos in my country

[@veritush]

i live in a neighbouring country to yours and are as conflicted as you are with this news 😅

[@blusafe1]

The mosquito population would quickly stabilize downwards. They are not a species that can persistently maintain high numbers.

[@20031bibi]

​@@blusafe1u sure? the mosquitoes in my city say otherwise kkkkk

[@bartmannn6717]

I imagine, those billions are just a very tiny amount in the general mosquito population. After a few days, they die anyway and a typical mosquito doesn't travel much farther than 200m from where it was bred. Those genetically modified ones would just replace the other ones in a very short time and I'm sure no one would notice it during that period.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Also remember, males do not bite. Only females preparing to lay eggs. Some places tried only releasing modified males.

[@henryhere]

These people are real life superheroes. I hope more people will dedicate their time to being this helpful

[@gintoki_sakata__]

Are you?

[@Thawhid]

​@gintoki_sakata__ no I don't like looking at mosquitoes

[@megarayquaza9054]

​@@gintoki_sakata__not everyone's dreams involve them spending their life tinkering with mosquitoes and viruses, funny how you ask that with that profile picture

[@rlywhocares]

you're unnaturally animated, facial-expressions-intense & jolly. topic is the only thing that keeps me watching

[@isarpo3629]

Hello Colombian here that lives very close to Medellin (Aburra Valley). I didn't know we had that project, but it makes sense because there are no longer as many campaigns to prevent Dengue outbreaks. What is really amazing is that last year I had dengue and had to go to the hospital because of it, good to know im one of the 4%🤦‍♀️

[@musingwithreba9667]

Can they do this with Lyme and alpha-gal infected ticks? Please?

[@Chris.in.taiwan]

Ticks, mosquitos and leeches are a curse on human kind.

[@dlt7432]

How about we make mosquitoes not bite us

[@GojosBackHand]

That would be way to easy😂

[@JesseJames_37]

... how?

[@GoeTeeks]

@@JesseJames_37 Either you kill the species of mosquitoes that bite humans, or you genetically engineer those species in a way that makes them not want to bite us and introduce them to the population to breed with other mosquitoes. Eventually the human=ick gene spreads to all of those mosquito populations and we eliminate mosquito bites from humans without killing any mosquito species.

[@JesseJames_37]

@@GoeTeeks yeah obviously. But how do you do that? The actual mechanism I mean. We don't have a method of doing that, but we do have a method of greatly reducing the mosquito population (the video above). So, in an effort to conserve human life, we are going forward with it.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

There is also an effort to do that. There's only about 6 species that bite humans out of a whole lot of species. If they all died, the others would fill all the other functions mosquitos do. The gene drive is a similar experiment that would kill entire species in the area where it is launched. It has been under study for a very long time because it is kind of scary if it goes wrong.

[@clawinx]

Watching this while recovering from dengue. I hope these solutions help with this problem here in brazil, we are currently having a dengue epidemic and it is not fun at all

[@Ziggylingue-ue5ft]

Here in Argentina we are experiencing a kind of mosquito epidemic. The number of cases has increased by x10 since the last year, so this progress seems brilliant and necessary here.

[@PudiimBR]

Hello from Brazil! Glad to see people talking about what our scientists are developing. They deserve more recognition (over here, mainly)!

[@samueltanjw]

Singapore has been employing this technique as early as October 2016! To great success too, though they only release male Wolbachia infected mosquitoes in order to reduce the mosquito population.

[@nathanweber1872]

please do a full podcast on this!

[@aditya-the918blog]

Learned a lot, brilliant 😊❤

[@jasone830]

What If We Killed Every Mosquito On Earth? A full video on why they are adding more mosiquitos and nothing to do with killing any mosquitors.

[@ChineduOpara]

Right??? Best and most creative ckickbait ever.

[@Quinton_ovo_]

Didnt they say: Nothing bad would happen to us directly but we cant be sure because it's too big a magnitude to assess

[@bongqueen]

Dumb ppl be like wait why dont they wipe out a whole species nothing bad could possibly happen

[@DemonGlacier]

@@Quinton_ovo_ They still filled half the video with technically irrelevant content, leaving viewers to keep watching and hope that they see what they actually clicked for...

[@4RILDIGITAL]

Fascinating experiment in Brazil! It's refreshing to see a potentially effective and ecologically responsible solution to address the deadly disease-spreading mosquitoes. Kudos to the scientists for thinking outside the box and betting on this unconventional approach. Looking forward to seeing how this pans out in the long run.

[@georgetamkc]

Great sharing, thanks

[@shownoIC]

First time here😁...really good video keep it going

[@XxRaiden08xX]

I like Metal Gear Solid V, hearing Wolbachia brings back memories.

[@Yehoyoshi]

I was looking for this comment literally just finished mgsv

[@St0RM33]

A WEAPON TO SURPASS METAL GEAR

[@Ozzie143]

Burgers of kazuhira

[@svenlivingston777]

I have been following this for years and it is literally so incredibly fascinating. Highly recommend looking into this if you are even the slightest bit curious!

[@scroogemcduche8712]

The plot of MGSV thickens

[@kouji0928]

I like the idea, nice work 🥳

[@nerdygem8620]

Will this create a selective pressure for resistance to the bacterium? Or, as infected mosquitoes can still reproduce (infected female, infected male and female), will there be no selective pressure for resistance?

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Infertility is a modification to males. The wollochia bacteria are separate and prevent dengue and malaria infection. The bacteria doesn't hurt the mosquitoes, so no need to resist. Females avoiding sterile males would be potential selective pressure, *if* there are existing genes that can avoid those males.

[@pedrolmlkzk]

Yes it 100% will

[@Teh_Duck]

Mosquitos don't benefit from carrying deadly diseases so there is no reason that they would breed out wolbachia. If anything deadly diseases are bad for mosquitoes because it kills their food sources but haven't due the abundance of animals to feed on id presume.

[@davidaugustofc2574]

There's is no pressure for the mosquitoes, there might be for the bacteria to mutate because it's now sterile

[@pedrolmlkzk]

@@davidaugustofc2574 it only takes 1 of them being immune then

[@JasonFennec]

Wolbachia sounds like Wallechia. Given the tendency of mosquitoes to suck blood, I find this name similarity amusing. 🧛🏼

[@AmaraJordanMusic]

Same! What a fun coincidence. 😅

[@Sedonapass]

Singapore released them here and I believe the pilot program worked (although I got infected with dengue in my estate) thank you for your work male mosquitoes

[@yuvtube1]

What if the viruses mutates to survive with Wolbachia? Viruses are the smallest living systems so they are the first ones to mutate and evolve.

[@lucasherbertss]

I had malaria as a child and it was a terrible time, fifteen years later and I still remember the feeling.

[@jameshoward2738]

I noticed that as soon as they started talking about the wolbachia program, they didn't mention malaria again though, but just kept talking about dengue...

[@therongjr]

I used to do dengue research, about 10 years ago, and Wolbachia was the talk of the town!

[@Garem1K]

Great video, hope they can pull it at a massive scale and reduce those infections.

[@cerveau24]

I remember hearing something like that 5-7 years ago, happy to hear about it again!

[@eliscerebralrecyclingbin7812]

You didn’t even tell us whether or not it was feasible like you mentioned early in the video! It was one of your research questions, I NEED TO KNOW 😭

[@raeperonneau4941]

In reading the comments, it seems to not only be feasible but has been used since 2016 in different countries.

[@flamshiz]

this is a tremendous moment for humanity and it's making me emotional to think about it

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Glad I showed up! You want me to celebrate with you, or do you need a hanky? I can be available for either. (Pops a party popper in the pants) [wink] I think ima need this hanky to clean up tho...

[@RealAadip]

Great video! Btw, your graphic has a typo at 3:57. It reads dengea instead of dengue.

[@azizulakram1921]

Wolbachia mosquito are everywhere right now in Malaysia and Singapore

[@oliround]

Thank you for answering one of the random questions that's been stuck in my consciousness for 13 years.

[@amonynous9041]

wolbachia just waiting for the right moment, they waited for us to take the bait.

[@figo5862]

5:06

[@amonynous9041]

@@figo5862 dude, it's a joke, u know, funny, ha ha?

[@Deferxs74]

Covid part 3

[@FadlySansan]

☠️💀

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Attack of the killer zwolbachia! I added a z to denote it's zombification. The movie posters will do a better job!

[@beaubellamy2999]

Why is this not a world wide headline?! This is incredible

[@zhalosky]

I have known about the Wolbachia experiment like 8 years ago and its great to finally see some results.

[@mikelytou]

Releasing 5 billion insects sounds like a story out of a 2000 year old fiction book

[@mypiebecamepizza9503]

Seconding that in the reshaped area for 1400 years because of the same book collection 😊 , hi there

[@soyanshumohapatra]

*Everyone gangsta untill the virus mutates*

[@peepeepoopoo115]

you’re exposed to the bacteria used in these mosquitos every single day.. It doesn’t simply mutate like a virus and it’s not harmful to humans

[@blusafe1]

Thus the elegance of the solution. Wolbachia will naturally evolve alongside their pathogenic competitors.

[@somehelluvafanboy8357]

My city recently had a sudden rise on dengue cases, so seeing this makes me hope that it won't be happening too much again

[@HeitorDeMarchi]

I heard about that back in 2019, when I used to work at health department fromcmy city and thought that's really a cool idea to stop dengue from spreading

[@adrianoliveira2994]

0:02 cool to know that now French Guiana is part of Brazil 🤣

[@sakurakitsunestar]

If I remember right, I think they did this here where I live in Florida too. I remember something that releasing modified mosquitoes to combat zika

[@kasavaman007]

And you believe them?

[@toxxickillerzz5114]

​@@kasavaman007noo... they just release 5 billion mosquitos for shits and giggles.

[@kasavaman007]

@@toxxickillerzz5114you dont get it. what i mean is what they said is not what they do. where'd you think zika came from? naturaly?

[@francestod.tandocjr4092]

​@@kasavaman007Are you saying the disease is man-made? That ain't exactly feasible considering it existed that for centuries.

[@AlanHearshel]

amazing video! hell yeah! science!

[@BG-fm5od]

Very educational.

[@JoJo-nv1re]

I was screaming this got me so hyped up. Go science

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Tell that to lake karachay... Feel free to take a swim, I dare you! Okay I take it back, 1 toe dip and the doctors will watch you perish with no way to help but ease the pain.

[@NavajoNinja]

"You cant blow up earth! Its a protected habitat for mosquitoes!" Lilo & Stitch

[@rdragonsheridan]

Wickedly awesome science!!!

[@VIPEditionGhost1v1]

Imagine having a device that exterminates all mosquitoes in your proximity

[@ongoingsky9347]

Terrifying and fascinating..😅

[@nightmarefuel7711]

Wouldn’t this just push dengue to evolve into a more effective competitor of wolbachia, outcompetes wolbachia aaaand in turn perhaps be deadlier to humans

[@Loudencerstudios]

Plot twist, there’s a giant mosquito behind the camera pointing a gun at him, forcing him to make this video.

[@viennakrakatoaleipzignumbers]

-ito in spanish means little. Which implies that there is a giant mosquito named El Mosco doing just this.

[@CooperOD]

What an incredible bit of ingenuity

[@funkibloo3811]

What could ho wrong with modified mosquitoes ⁉️

[@soyanshumohapatra]

Everything

[@ttomitt]

Sounds like the start of any sci-fi horror 😂

[@damian2256]

This is insane. It really makes me think about the complexity of the unknown. Science and the universe is just unbelievable.

[@cryptic2079]

I've had this question in my head for years, living along the equator

[@r0cketplumber]

I think this isn't reducing the mosquito population very much- although Wolbachia isn't good for them it doesn't kill them off. But making sure it is endemic in the wild population reduces the viruses a lot. If both M and F have W, the eggs do hatch and bear W, so the intervention doesn't have to be sustained. Elsewhere I've seen it claimed that just a small set of species (six or so?) are responsible for almost all human infection, so selectively wiping out those might be worthwhile.

[@S_Miclemie]

Yeah well its not trying to reduce the mosquito population, it's trying to reduce the number of mosquitoes that can spread diseases. Lets say there are a 10 million mosquitoes right now, out of which 3 million are mosquitoes that can spread deadly diseases like malaria and dengue, after infection them with wolbachia there still will be 10 million mosquitoes, its just that instead of 3 million on them carrying diseases there will now only be 100,000 that carry diseases

[@DNAHCKR-eo9nd]

Light: Human's ingenious plan, Pacifist mosquito plague Dark: Human's ingenious plan, Disguised mosquito plague

[@carlodesa198]

We need to research this for ticks as well

[@jeffnunes741]

Bro, I love science. Scientists are so important. I wish we valued them more!

[@dlt7432]

Juergen Klopp a scientist???

[@radinaatanasova]

lmao, now i can't unsee it

[@sethbirungi6178]

😂

[@adrianoaraujo5275]

They just forgot one thing: life finds a way

[@ballisticalrift]

What a very scientific approach

[@murwur]

i have been waiting for this video . for centuries. myes

[@jenniferpowell4844]

I love this!! Thank you for posting!! Mosquitos are the worst! I always wonder in the back of my kind tho, if we keep finding solutions to disease(which I support), will it actually lead us quicker to extinction by overwhelming the planet with our population?

[@YusukeEugeneUrameshi]

1:06 then kill only those mosquitoes who bite

[@KaidenPvP15]

logic

[@realBeltalowda]

We’re looking at this problem all wrong! Not all mosquitoes bite! Only females from some species bite because their ovaries don’t fully develop during their adolescent stages, whereas the species that don’t bite have fully developed ovaries when they become adults. This disparity between the biting and non-biting species is why the biting species need to bite: they need the protein and nutrients from a blood meal in order to stay competive with the non-biting species. The solution? Genetically modify the biting species, helping them, so that their ovaries develop sooner negating the need to bite at all. Which solves the disease vector issues.

[@blusafe1]

Implementation would be the same: mass produce millions of breeders to spread the trait in wild populations. Genetic modification would be insanely more expensive, require more research and development, carry much higher risks, and be more prone to failure.

[@spongebobislyfe5906]

That could also change their birth rates, which may have a negative impact on the environment and quality of life

[@vincevvn]

I’m about 1000% positive if you know this information, actual researchers and scientists have already looked into this. Way to try to sound smart tho.

[@realBeltalowda]

@@blusafe1 the risks are the same. By intentionally spreading wolbachia into all mosquito populations there is just as much room for natural evolution of those wolbachia to evolve and mutate into something that could be harmful to us, potentially even more harmful at some point. Modifying the mosquitoes is more expensive in the short term and people are afraid of it because “something could go wrong” and we haven’t done it yet, but modifying them so that they are helped and don’t bite us means no more potential disease vectors at all from mosquitoes.

[@realtalk2046]

These things used to eat me alive in florida and texas. I’m allergic apparently? The bumps get huge even if not scratched and they tend-to target me. Thankful I havent been bit in years and never got sick

[@versuzzero5335]

I thought of this solution long ago. Crazy what thoughts come into mind during shower or waiting to fall asleep...

[@invaderhorizongreen8168]

Mosquitoes form an important source of biomass in the food chain-serving as food for fish as larvae and for birds, bats and frogs as adult flies-and some species are important pollinators. Geckos also need them for food . Without mosquitoes, thousands of plant species would lose a group of pollinators. Adults depend on nectar for energy (only females of some species need a meal of blood to get the proteins necessary to lay eggs that may lead to the death of many a plant species.

[@ayejay8862]

Thank you! Yeah, I don't buy the whole idea that wiping out an entire 'nuisance' species is good for the world; having no significant ramifications on the ecosystem. Everything in nature has its place, its value, even 'natural' diseases affect the progression of immunity and evolution. The immediate benefits-seeking nature of modern society tends to make us quite nearsighted, imo.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

100% agree. Midges/mosquitos serve as up to 50% of a trouts diet. There are plenty of delicate trout ecosystems that would perish alongside the mosquito. One of my favorite places to fish is a place like this. I don't like the bites, but I respect their place in the circle of life. I was happy to find we aren't eradicating them, just eradicating thier ability to cause infection with a reverse infection.

[@lm-pw9ul]

Mosquitoes in Western countries are nowhere near as bad as the ones in Asia/South East Asia and maybe other tropical places. Trouts can eat other things and I don't even eat trout. I prefer seafood/fishes from the sea that have less parasites.

[@noodleconsumer]

That is a sacrifice I am willing to make

[@brandonhoffman4712]

@lm-pw9ul I don't think you know what your talking about. All I'm hearing is prejudice, self-elevation, and a desire to murder things to suit you.

[@nessaacabs]

Idk about this. When humans start to mess with things too much shit always turns sideways. I hope that this keeps helping but fingers crossed causeeeeee

[@JoeVirella]

I live in Puerto Rico and I think about this every year, but every time I hear Circle of Life in the background.

[@user-ik4xq9hm1x]

Interesting fact about dengue which contradicts every available source I can find online is that, in American English, it has always been pronounced “deng” as one syllable which I have always attributed to an erroneous assumption that the etymology was Vietnamese.

[@raneshmaurya]

Me after reading the title: *Metallica album*

[@terzinhach]

Brasil mentioned!!!!! 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@jake9854]

but g1rls hated brazil tho

[@ezekieldguzman1350]

Sound like another good plot for Zomebie Apocalypse Movie.

[@JRischill]

What a counter intuitive solution to the problem. This reminds of a show from Tru TV, they would let hunters hunt already endangered rhinos in Africa for their horns in exchange for a high fee. This money would then be used to help preserve the remaining rhinos. This method was effective.

[@FreedomDaveX]

Great video despite having a bait/switch title.

[@yoelladanan4018]

Dengue's very popular nowadays in our country😂😂😂

[@rafaelpinguellochrun1898]

That's why we are having an epidemy of dengue in Brazil rn, just above 2 million infected people at the moment

[@Fun_facts-js5xs]

Wow this is awesome The rate at which Dengue fever is dropping is impressive