The bold plan to end malaria with a gene drive

[@Vox]

To learn more, read Dylan's article here: bit.ly/2J78xwE. And check out our Netflix show! Explained: bit.ly/2sjJv6K - joss

[@Wookien]

Why don't they edit the parasite genes instead? Seems counter intuitive to kill another species.

[@n2201]

What happens to the bats and other species that feed on mosquitoes

[@Vox]

Some important facts to keep in mind when discussing gene drives: 1) There are more than 3,000 mosquito species, including over 800 in Africa alone. These researchers are only targeting a few that transmit human diseases. So far there isn't evidence that malaria-carrying mosquitoes are key species for ecosystems (nothing that feeds on them exclusively). Though of course, there can be ripple effects that we can't foresee. 2) Gene drives only work on sexually-reproducing organisms, so you couldn't use this to spread viruses or bacteria. 3) Gene drives work in animals with short generation times (mosquitoes have a new generation every couple of weeks.) So inserting a gene drive into a human or other large mammals would take reeeeeeeallly long to have population-wide effects. -joss

[@ReubenJBrown]

Vox, always love your videos, joss. loving explained on netflix too! ❤️

[@KIKE.KAWASAKI]

It would be as effective with other diseases as zika, dengue and chikungunya of different species of mosquitoes in continents like South America.

[@Chadx2]

This is great news because as a person born in the Democratic republic of Congo, I'm one of the malaria survivors so the sooner CRISPR is brought around (& REGULATED) to remove malaria, the happier and more prosperous the future of Africa will start to become.

[@ShankarSivarajan]

I'm glad your pathological desire for REGULATION is satisfied.

[@Chadx2]

Shankar Sivarajan I mean.. if CRISPR is misused we could have Godzilla sized mosquitoes flying around right? Lol

[@ShankarSivarajan]

+Crab Synth That gives me an idea: What if we created a gene-drive to make flightless mosquitoes?

[@KamiltheCamel]

Monkeeh First, I am pretty sure they have found that mosquitos are only part of a food source and most animals can eat other stuff. Second, yes some sacrifices must be made, but these are MILLIONS of people dying yearly. Sorry, but if AMerica or Europe were dealing with Malaria you know you would be ok with hurting the environment in order to keep yourself safe. We have already damaged the environment a lot. This could damage it, but it will only be one small thing on a very large list filled with much, much bigger things.

[@CodeRiseFN]

Filius Dei congrats for having a life. I am happy.

[@CuriosityCulture]

Vox videos always has a way to explain something in such a beautiful way.

[@TommoCarroll]

Too right Harshil! Have loved Vox's science-related content for years now! What did you think of their 'Thaw' series?

[@CuriosityCulture]

Aspect Science dude I love them. I'm big into storytelling. If you can tell a good story, you don't have to have a 'fancy' camera. Good story and some editing skill can make your video pop

[@TommoCarroll]

100% agree! The more videos we make the more we realise just that - it's almost the more simple visually you make it and the more focused on the story the better! A story to pull someone from point to point seamlessly, like Vox manages to do, is key!

[@mmhoss]

Yeah except that dumb bit of propaganda about polygamy

[@A_Nobbit]

*cough* Kurzgesagt *cough*

[@TommoCarroll]

*The real question is who do you call when mosquitoes attack...* The SWAT team!

[@CalpolMeister]

The door

[@watermoof4914]

CalpolMeister is right over there

[@CalpolMeister]

Nah, I can't even lie, I like a good pun

[@isaiahcabino6431]

s t o p

[@TommoCarroll]

Tehehe, CalpolMeister speaks the truth: no one can lie, you all love a good pun!

[@diulikadikaday]

I'm honestly getting a little teary-eyed watching this. It would be amazing to see millions of people saved. I have a 3 year old kid and I just started thinking how lucky he is to not have to suffer from Malaria.

[@justlisten82]

There was a mosquito buzzing around me while I watched this video... I feel like I may have accidentally given them a heads up. I'm sorry. Ps. Update, I killed it we should be ok.

[@annieh8127]

An eye opening video about the eradication of a disease that kills millions and the first four comments say "first"

[@return6005]

I like the malaria resistance choice better than killing the mosquito population as that will affect the ecosystem significantly.

[@r.b.4611]

yes

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

Same, lots of animals such as bats rely on mosquito's for food. Plants also rely on mosquito's to pollinate. By killing them you effect those.

[@seb_5969]

It will allow people to settle in the jungle of Africa... that means that the super Fauna there, such as Rhinos and Elefant are basically exstinct.

[@nicholasvsjesse]

iBlueDust Same here, malaria provides no benefit to Mosquitos, and so has no unintended environmental consequences as a result.

[@baggern]

nicholasvsjesse yeah and no. Malaria controls overpopulation

[@felipebier7]

It makes my skin crawl when I hear this argument about "nature" coming from people in developed countries, while people starve or perish from these illness everyday in other parts of the world. I strongly agree with the researcher's last words, "nature", this huge abstraction from which we are not detached, is not moral. Our politics as humans will dictate the use of these technologies, as it is the case for anything. Do those people even think how hunger and sickness halts democracy, for example? How it is hard to fight a corrupt government if you have to worry about having clean water?

[@jamestang1227]

7:46 Such as? Genetic modification, which isn't necessarily infertility, is still the closest solution we have so far.

[@atkillz6589]

James Tang ikr. Says there are safer ways, doesn’t even state them wtf you can tell she has no idea what’s she talking about

[@rodrigoborges3876]

The problem with GMOs is that, as any other technology, it can be used for good or for bad. People openly relate GMOs with the bad usage (making plants resistant to agrotoxics which makes the agrobusiness crank up on poison usage, making plants with seeds that are infertile so producers would have to buy seeds from the manufacturer, such as monsanto etc) and that clouds their eyes on the possibility that good, well regulated and well intended usage of the technology could have (making crops that are more nutritious, making crops that could grow on harsh climates, making crops naturally resistant to pests without requiring agrotoxic usage, making crops that restore the soil where they were planted or capture extra carbon from the atmosphere, etc) It's the same thing with nuclear energy. Nuclear power is by far the safest (even when you count deaths due to nuclear plant accidents, it's still less than every other form of energy combined. ourworldindata.org/what-is-the-safest-form-of-energy ), most cost-effective (cost both in terms of money and environmental impact, solar and wind are great, but very expensive, maintenance-heavy and less reliable) out there, but due to sensationalism about power plant accidents and fear of nuclear weaponry, the public is strongly opposed to it.

[@miwoisthata5186]

The video mentioned scientists looking for a vaccine, that would probably be the option that isn't as invasive to the whole ecosystem of Africa as erasing a complete species of mosquitoes

[@MvrMarieLaurence]

Like you're saying they are 'looking' for a vaccin, it will take at least another 10 years, another 10 years that little children die from this horrible dissease.

[@miwoisthata5186]

Can't really say if it will take 5 or 10 years for a vaccine, and the scientists themselves said it will take 2-5 years for phase 2, and we don't know how long that will take. I think the time until we have a vaccine and the time until we have genetically modified mosquitoes will be the same. However, this is Sub-Saharan Africa we're speaking of, so even if there is a vaccine available, many people won't be able to afford it, won't trust this new medicine (we see that right now with Ebola), there will be huge political obstacles and the infrastructure is extremely bad in parts of those countries. So yes, I believe altering the mosquitoes is the more efficient way, but the arguments of critics hold a lot of value. Imagine we eradicate that species of mosquitoes, now there is a pretty big link missing in the food chain and we don't quite know the effects of that yet. In general, altering the gene code of an animal could easily be done wrong, and we don't notice until they're set free on the continent. The genetic approach in my opinion is much more risky when looking at the ecosystem (which is already fragile in Africa), but when done right, will have a way better impact than vaccines or other medicine

[@lewdongan2698]

Son: I hope there will be flying cars in the future! Dad: No! we made mosquitoes to fight malaria!

[@wangdangdoodle4944]

Lew Dong An as seen on TV in black and white 🚽, we'd have more spare time and I need new radials ToO

[@sheikhheisen]

To be fair, I would rather have millions of deaths prevented instead of a cool vehicle.

[@staind2523]

Also to be fair, I don't think anyone actually wants everyone to have a flying car. Maybe just you, but not everyone. Imagine all of our traffic in the sky above you...what a terrifying thought.

[@derekdeadlifts2986]

There will be both hopefully.

[@rea8585]

OMG, how cool is this video and how amazing is science! Really hope something can be done to get rid of malaria in the shortest time possible!

[@wangdangdoodle4944]

Quick Fix agreed

[@derekdeadlifts2986]

Agreed I'm in college for biotechnology, I love this stuff! Personally I will probably be working for a supplement company after I graduate, however I hope to do some research with muscular dystrophy at some point in my life. I know if we could find a cure for that it would feel amazing and we may be closer than you think. i have vaguely touched on it in one of my videos.

[@derekdeadlifts2986]

@Darius Beaumont I am 23 years old but I have never left the United States lol.

[@Claymann71]

Also: best video of the month. Shame it took this long to find. Take your Sub!

[@codyharper3824]

"I look at the earth as something we've gotta.. we gotta keep going for us and for other animals. But I don't look at it as this morally benevolent place... It's... It's a horror show that we're trying to manage as best we can." #TRUTH

[@asclepiusgod3791]

"Earth is a protected wildlife refuge. See, we're using it to replenish the mosquito population, which I remind you is an endangered species." - Pleakley

[@BlackLlight07]

Two women who involve in developing CRISPR gene editing have won Nobel Prize in Chemistry today.

[@arando689]

I don't get how Ms. Dana Perls sees her argument that we can find a way to fix this that "aren't about permanently altering nature". Humans have been altering nature to our benifit for as long as we have existed. When we were just small farming communities, we would always choose to breed the crops that yielded better or was more resilient than those that were weak and didn't produce a lot of food for our effort. We put ourselves in the way of "nature" breeding the crops naturally. And today, our crops look drastically different than from, say, 1000+ years ago--for example: bananas, watermelons, mango, etc. And dogs and other domestic animals too. We bred the dogs that were more loyal, the sheep that had more wool, the horses that were faster and less aggressive. Dogs, specifically, have been selectively bred by us, over decades and maybe even centuries, for qualities other than loyalty. We have dogs that are cute, or large, or fluffy, and many other traits. If nothing happened that "permanently altered nature" as she put it, we probably wouldn't even exist.

[@Xeloss96]

I could listen to Joss's voice for ever!

[@thoyo]

I'm all for this, but we have to be keenly cognizant of unintended consequences. Recently, the rise of super resistant bugs due to overuse of antibiotics and antibacterials comes to mind.

[@charlieshin9868]

this has nothing to do with this. Its genetically modifying them directly not indirectly. Obviously if we used pesticide that much it was only a matter of time before they adapt same applies with humans, But Genetically modifying it is really a whole new thing

[@Amok83]

I understand your point, and agree in the way of thinking. But that line of thought arises from the knowledge of the consequences of misuse of pesticide and antibiotics. I think that the point here is that we still don't know what is misusing CRISPR technology. But I have faith in proper research.

[@thoyo]

Charlie Shin Understood. My reference wasn't meant to confuse genetic modification with the use of antibiotics. I meant to highlight the possibility of unintended consequences in the ecosystem etc. Such as the knock on effect on wildlife such as mosquito hawks which feed on mosquitos and the fish that eat them, and the fish that eat those fish, and so on. I'm no Luddite. I'm quite excited about this new technological development, I just hope that they're mindful of possible consequences.

[@aronseptianto8142]

and that's why my friend testing is a thing

[@saltpot]

thoyo Do mosquito Hawks exclusively eat mosquitos, and do they primarily eat the Gambiae species? In my reading on this topic, it was my understanding that there were very few species that rely on these mosquito species as a large part of their diet.

[@kristychung6902]

Thank you so much Dylan and Joss! I'm researching ways biotechnology can help save endangered animals and although many children have dies, wildlife would be impacted greatly, too. I'm definitely going to find ways to help and can't wait to present this in my work for class. Thank you, guys!

[@MyeongsooChoi]

I guarantee that if malaria were spreading in a developed country, the time needed for eliminating the disease would take at most 6 months.

[@alquinn8576]

Fact: 1,000 Africans = 1 American

[@HowardxDuck]

Why did you guys at 4:22 make them do a Skype call interview when it’s obvious that they’re in the same studio with the same lighting and audio quality? It literally looks like they’re right next to each other based on the background

[@SarveshShah]

Exactly my thoughts!

[@Vox]

Dylan is based in new york. I'm in DC. -joss

[@HowardxDuck]

Vox ahh ok. You have to admit though that it looks like that though right? Great video

[@SarveshShah]

Ohh makes sense

[@TommoCarroll]

🐛🐝🌿 Such an interesting point he makes at the end _"It's a horror show that we're trying to manage as best we can"_ - would love to hear what people think about that. Thoughts?

[@helkafen100]

It sounds like his worldview has been heavily influenced by his field of study. Ecosystems can also be wonderful and they provide us everything we need.

[@ilanyahav7484]

It is a complete hubris to think we can manage the planet's ecosystems. Science and technology (including genetic and geo-engineering) are amazing and have big roles to play in bringing back balance to disrupted and unhealthy bioregions all over the globe. Defeating malaria is an important goal for humanity, but we need to be humble and understand that there are always complex ecological implications for every intervention we make in natural systems. Just as a reminder - weather patterns are changing, oceans are acidifying, a rediculous number of creatures are going extinct.. There are other ways to combat Malaria - it was a serious epidemic in Mandatory- Plalestine / pre-Israel, and was completely eradicated: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-malaria-shaped-the-future-map-of-israel-1.5866664

[@TommoCarroll]

helkafen100, that is definitely true - it does sound like that, so there might be a bit of bias going on. But at the same time, the fact that his field of study _is_ this could mean that what he says holds more weight?

[@TommoCarroll]

Love the responses on this by the way guys, can see this becoming a good conversation!

[@TommoCarroll]

ilan yahav, will definitely check out that article. What you say about us managing the ecosystems is very true - we do not and probably will not ever have the power to be able to control or manage the complex ecosystems of the natural world. But isn't what he's saying about 'managing as best we can' really in response to the people that claim nature is a beautiful and sublime place that doesn't need any intervention? That's how I saw what he was saying; nature _isn't_ fluffy and sometimes in can be down right terrifying (eg rapidly evolving pathogens) so we're essentially just trying to keep the worst of it at bay the best we can

[@ozzymendoza3216]

Joss Fong is hands down my favorite journalist in vox keep it up!

[@finntran1672]

CRISPR-CAS9 is safer than any other approaches, despite it being so-called “Genetic Modifies (Modification)”. When you alter the genetics of a population, if will for surely alter the gene pool of the entire species (along with Gene Drive). However, this effect only stay WITHIN the species of the initial modification. Unlike pesticides, which can travel up to the food chain and potentially affect humans, genetic modification cannot spread to other species or even sub-species. The only concerns left are: 1. Will there be imbalance in the food chain if this species of mosquito is gone? No. Other less troublesome mosquito species will replace this species for sure. Nature can fill in these ecological niche very fast, and it’s even faster with insects. 2. What happen if these genetic naturally mutate and create “super-mosquito”? This is a good question. That’s why we must test these new bio-technology, but, as of right now, there’s no such thing. 3. What happen if Malaria can evolve to infect mosquitos that have already been made immune? Another good question, if something like that happen, then I’m sure Malaria can already by-pass human vacine. So, no worries here.

[@prabhatsourya3883]

As to question 2, the possibility of mutation and super bug creation is the reason why "oil - eating bacteria" (which would absorb and assimilate crude oil from the sea surface spills) was not commercialized, as scientists feared that it would mutate or mix with local bacteria and could cause catastrophic results on the ecosystem.

[@thevinedenedo8199]

I am from Nigeria, I surfer malaria infection at least twice each year, it's horrible. Science has once again proven to be a positive force for good if left in the hand of rational thinkers.

[@Reqex]

What kind of effect might wiping a kind of mosquitoes have on the food chain? While I agree that we should work on this ASAP to save lives, but killing off all the mosquitoes sounds very dangerous... I think I agree more with virus resistant mosquitoes instead.

[@fangirlfortheages5940]

Enoch Tong I agree I’m surprised that wasn’t more of the environmentalist’s argument and it wasn’t touched on here

[@insertchannelnamehere8685]

Generally they do this with only one species of mosquito at a time, and while they might go extinct, there's literally hundreds of other ( perhaps non disease transmitting) other species that can take over their niche in the food chain, so the overall environmental effect isn't that bad

[@TheYinfaowei]

This is one of my best vox episodes ever!!! you guys rock

[@marekvrbka]

This could be problematic. By essentially wiping out mosquitoes, you are affecting their predators... which affects their predators... This could be devastating. Albeit the resistance to malaria transmiting could work.

[@ConfusedPorpoise]

So far ecological work has been done and they have found that mosquitos have little role as prey. But they do have a role as a vector for diseases in the ecosystem. The issue is that these diseases kill us too. And yeah, it's also hard to know all the unintended consequences, but they are using the science they have right now to make this judgement.

[@starandfox601]

Mosquitos can cause migartions and effect migartion patterns.for example migrating birds will go to areas where the misquito population has exploded to get a quick fuel up of food. herbivores also will travel a cretain way to blow away mosquitoes and their biting also can cause herbivores to migrate to try and get away from them. So mosquitoes do play a huge role in the ecosystem. Also bioligist once thought wolves were useless and thanks to them yellow stones ecosystem collapsed.

[@cpwm17]

They only target mosquito species that transfer malaria.

[@vegetaprinceofdrip663]

this is only the species that carries malaria, plenty other species present

[@yayjuiws4224]

There's a lot of species of mosquitos, so one danger out of the list, won't do anything significantly harmful.

[@CAROLOC]

Hi, I have a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics and during my studies I often read about this topic. I personally agree with a responsible use of genetic drive, but in the scientific community (for what I know at least) there is a big debate regarding their use. The major concern is that no such thing with a spreading capability of a genetic drive exist in nature so we don’t have any clue of how it will evolve even in the short term, for example it could inactivate itself by random mutation, or it could spread to other species where it could have a completely different effect (we know that the horizontal gene transfer could be more common than expected, we saw it happening in the wild fruit fly in the matter of years). I totally agree with its use, we are talking about saving lives. But I am afraid that it will take a lot of time before its use. However I am not specialising in this field so my point of view could be a little dated.

[@ihsanayyasy6036]

Joss Fong!! :)

[@taquitolayton68]

She's cute, isn't she?

[@joemama32100]

UkeSama she's a total babe haha

[@abramjessiah]

Yes, I too have noticed. 😘

[@japhetawa2389]

yum yum

[@cheddarcheese089]

Time for an update to this video.

[@fanaticalzealot1246]

I don’t think we should make the mosquitoes infertile, that would drastically effect wildlife populations, I think the best option is to make mosquitoes anti parasitic.

[@mogur00]

the verb is AFFECT (unless you're saying "effect change" for eg.), and is basically synonymous with INFLUENCE (the verb). Eg. "making mosquitoes infertile would drastically affect wildlife populations" The noun is generally EFFECT, eg. "the effect of making mosquitoes infertile would be ..." FYI

[@wangdangdoodle4944]

mogur00 words be nimble words be quick words resemble walking Sti Ks. I touched her thigh and death smiled. I'll never wake up in a good mood again. Was it the??

[@jascrandom9855]

Absolute horseshit. Mosquitoes are hardly a source of food for any creature in nature. They won't be missed by anyone.

[@raquelflorence235]

Jasc Random Some really small birds eat mosquitos. Mosquito larvae is food for many small fish.

[@meowmeow5591]

"Drastcially effect wildlife populations" what ones? Where? What animals? You have no idea, but thought to comment because you assume you know better than the scientists working on this. Even just a quick Google search shows you the impact (or lack of) this mosquito has to other animals and plants, and that it's human disease and overpopulation that caused the overpopulation of said mosquitos, they're nearly correcting for this

[@piccolo917]

This is why you should fund biomedical scientists with as much money as they ask for.

[@zoreh4279]

Bye everyone I have to go to school now

[@griffdog8233]

Sharpie Man Cya mate

[@Udontkno7]

have fun kid

[@panicatdx]

Sharpie Man what are you doing at school at 2pm on a bank holiday?

[@noweeeee]

Sharpie Man goodluck

[@amiyarose9140]

Sharpie Man Do good! :)

[@Dalerz24]

BRILLIANT! Excellent job distilling advanced science and its importance into an easy to understand and entertaining video! Must have taken an incredible amount of thought and work.

[@PirateTHESteam1]

Can we also do this to ticks while we're at it?

[@DavidAllen-px7gr]

Probably. It'll take just as much time as tweaking mosquitoes will take in total, but it's still feasible.

[@aidanrozema8522]

YOU RELEASED THIS 2 DAYS AFTER MY SCIENCE PROJECT ON MALARIA! GAH! AND I COULD OF USED YOU GUYS AS A SOURCE!!!!

[@ilikemeandvidios]

I think giving the mosquitoes the ability to not give the virus to people is the best idea lowering the population will hurt the environment and we will feel the effects later on in these countries which have people depend on the environment for their livelihood

[@Silverizael]

There are hundreds of species of mosquito in the regions. This is only dealing with a single species that transmits malaria.

[@cutelovegigi]

It is not that we don't want to help people, the issue is that the Gene Drive is such a new method that we are still learning about. Just a year ago scientists started testing a gene drive with mice and they have already seen that after 5 generation the gene drive had been turned off, in other words, in mammals it had already presented mutations. I am not against using gene drives but also I don't think we should jump right in to trying this technology yet, especially with children. As a biology major and someone who is interest in genetics, I just ask from current scientists to do more trials and make sure how to use this technology before using it.

[@Sivah_Akash]

We can't just look at the harm nature does to us. It's nothing compared to how Nature actually helps us, and the reason we're alive at all. Anyways the harm is just Nature's way to keep sustaining species for as long as possible, whether we like it or not. But as a Species, we are indeed trying to survive better, as an instinct!

[@PincheBrayan101]

I’m all for getting rid of mosquitoes but you have to be careful with eliminating mosquitoes just because some animals rely on mosquitoes for food. Altering mosquitoes I’m all for.

[@DankMatter]

I mean if these mosquitos got released into the world, people will still shoo them away

[@charlieshin9868]

yh but the point of this is to make it so that these mosquitoes repopulate so basically in a few years time there will be zero mosquitoes that can pass malaria

[@meowmeow5591]

With such an ignorant comment, I'm gonna bet (and really hope) you're trolling.

[@DankMatter]

meow meow non't

[@AL-hk3oo]

Hello catn't

[@BlobsoR0ck]

True

[@endo9902]

This is the kind of "news" that makes me glad to live now and in this planet.

[@SciencewithKatie]

This is so cool! 💛💛

[@3p1cand3rs0n]

Jeeze, nobody likes us today. At least we tried. 😕

[@fatbadboy329]

Oh, hi Katie

[@jackdavis4240]

I use Vox to do news summaries so thanks for existing

[@charlieshin9868]

Check out kurzegasagt for better info on this subject

[@samuelluisdelespiritusanto7343]

That video is old

[@unvergebeneid]

I don't think I'd agree that it's better. Also, it's spelled "kurzgesagt."

[@meowmeow5591]

Penny Lane ....chill mate, we know you went and searched for it to get the right spelling, and if the point was grammar he could've just searched as well, but we all inferred the right meaning ergo no need for the smart ass grammar checks.

[@unvergebeneid]

I didn't have to but the broader point would be that if you recommend something to other people, you should maybe go through the trouble of googling the correct spelling yourself.

[@TheRockerX]

Exactly

[@aliyahamiri7390]

I can’t help but get excited when watching this video. What an amazing breakthrough! ☺️

[@BR-jt6ny]

Just saying that nature is a horror show is pretty dismissive. Every time I hear about these genetically modified mosquitoes I can't help wondering whether drastically reducing mosquito populations won't have bad consequences for the local ecosystems.

[@Hicham-zl4iu]

It's because of the pharmaceutical business. I recommand strongly watching Malaria Business Documentary to see, that these millions are dying because of the greedy Pharma industry. And read about ARTEMISIA ANNUA plant, which is very effective for Malaria but unfortunately not allowed in many countries because of the lobby's and the WHO.

[@florence9133]

Aloha, fellow Vox fans!

[@rewer]

Flo Butcher, aloha

[@florence9133]

rewer Bonjour from England :)

[@TommoCarroll]

Bonjourno from England!

[@TommoCarroll]

Oh haha, just saw that you wrote pretty much the EXACT same thing! Bonjour is apparently an English thing now aha!

[@florence9133]

Aspect Science that's gotta be it! 😁

[@Nerrvih]

Bad argument at the end. She did not say "we should leave malaria alone", she said "not like this". The gene drive tool is terrifying and should be treated as such.

[@tylerbritton38]

One accedentiy escapes lab

[@ShankarSivarajan]

Tyler Britton "accidentally" saving millions of lives, despite not being approved by the government.

[@another.nikhil]

Vox has the best videos on youtube.

[@aniekanumoren6088]

Vox science vids >>>>>> vox Political vids

[@aniekanumoren6088]

Sadly the climate change denial on the right is attrorious, but the denial of biological differences between men and women on the left is also madenning.

[@CutieZalbu]

Aniekan Umoren LoL man & women are different biologically but the right uses that same differences to oppress women😂

[@silvervixen007]

Because you disagree?

[@nokiabladee]

true xd

[@leifharmsen]

If all mosquitoes went extinct I don't think anyone would cry.

[@moskva-kassiopeya]

U do no da wae

[@frenchfrythecool]

Joss, your videos are always excellent. I know I can always count on you to bring interesting stories to this platform with integrity and sound research

[@Sam-ip6co]

So its okay to intentionally push a entire species to extinction now

[@nesslig2025]

We have done that before in terms of things that are sources of major human (and sometimes animal) suffering and I hope morons like you won't stop us from doing that. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases

[@TyKOmain]

Nice I remember when Vice covered this like a year ago when the Zika outbreak was big....

[@shahnawazansari119]

u r late.. kurzgegast did it first

[@one8ty.918]

Shahnawaz Ansari *kurzgesagt

[@ByNextus]

That video is hella old. This one is an "updated version" of that!

[@jeyanthiprabhu1338]

ONE8TY. Yea kurzgesagt is so hard to spell

[@Katzelle3]

Kurzgegast war die Lebenserwartung einer Gruppe von Personen in den vierziger Jahren.

[@aditawks]

Awesome Video Vox Team.

[@cucaulwell1287]

As a general rule I'm wary of Genetic Modification... but so long as they test it super rigorously and then get a really pessimistic person to think of all the negative outcomes and ensure those don't happen... sure, I guess. It sounds good in theory, anyway.

[@NessieAndrew]

Old story. Yet, I still like how it's presented.

[@MrJhuang999]

I'd be happy to hear Joss read stories for dayz. Are there gene modification risks? Food chain?

[@3roderick3]

The big dilemma with the concept of the gene drive is that effects will be uncontrollable once implemented. Instead of modifying one organism whose genes may or may not survive due to evolution (which warrants discussion in its own right), you are now rigging/ bypassing part of the evolutionary process. We should do this with extreme caution and a lot of ethical discussions. Science discovers the methods, but can not give answers to ethical dilemma's. Just to clarify, I am a scientist working with CRISPR Cas9 in an unrelated field. And I find the genedrive concept both fascinating and alarming at the same time.

[@JarrodBaniqued]

I like Friends of the Earth and am okay with GMO labeling, but genetic engineering is one of the best ways forward to letting humanity survive and overcome disease and slow aging.

[@bvthebalkananarchistmapper5642]

I didn't even start watching the video, and I already know what's it about. THANKS KURZGESAGT, FOR MAKING A VIDEO ABOUT THE SAME THING MORE THAN A YEAR AGO!

[@bvthebalkananarchistmapper5642]

I prefer the Californian method, thank you very much.

[@bvthebalkananarchistmapper5642]

F*** you anti-Genetic-modification groups!

[@nara0dhipa]

joss' voice is heaven

[@colettebatman6771]

It’s scary to me to consider the fact that this title could easily be the opposite...there is so much that the DOD does and all other agencies do without transparency...

[@acanthus34]

There is a scientifically modified mosquitoes that are released in the Philippines that breeds mosquitoes that doesn't have wings. I think their take on it is simple and effective.

[@ChronicallyCurious]

As someone who's been ill since I was 12, and has been told by various specialists I'm not expected to ever get better, I cordially and strongly dislike the idea that we don't need to do research because it's messing with nature. Those people need to try living without antibiotics and vaccines for a while. If they lived through what I, what my family, goes through, I don't think they'd have the luxury of retaining those scruples. Yes, I am worried at the negative aspects of any new breakthrough. There will be a period of transition. But... it is the only hope of so many people will illnesses out there, either ones that will kill them before we can develop this technology, that will keep them suffering longer, that will destroy their lives but allow them to retain them, or be passed on to their children so they can suffer as well. Mother Nature has supplied us with various means to fight infection and ward off pain, but it also supplies all the things necessary to supply it. We have the ability, we can do this. I don't know how people can realize how many suffering people will be aided by advances in this kind of tech and just say, "Nope. Not worth it." I understand many people may think differently, but that's my hard-won opinion.

[@PepTwo]

i really love their editing stlye

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

This is really cool that we are able to do this - though I think we should indeed be careful. What I don't get is why we are still focusing on annihilating mosquitoes, rather than making them malaria-resistant.

[@Vox]

the argument against targeting the parasites rather than the mosquitoes is that malaria parasites have already shown that they can evolve resistance to insecticides and drugs and could quickly evolve around this too. That doesn't mean it wouldn't work, but it could require repeatedly re-engineering the drive. I think they'll test both approaches and see which has the most likelihood of impacting the disease.

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

Makes sense - thank you!!!! :)

[@OmikronPsy]

6:12 "There are no regulations that have handled this before" The reason is: There are many regulations how to deal with genetically modified organism in most countries. For example in Germany: It is strictly VERBOTEN to release them into the environment.

[@feyfrost8783]

This disease has been prominent in it's native habitat for eons, removing it could cause untold disaster to local ecosystems and relationships we do not understand.

[@shrekt1000]

Valentino, there's an Anopheles mosquito behind you! Oh no he has airpods in, he can't hear us.

[@lxndrskv]

Mosquito undergoes mutation, allows gene drive of unwanted genes. For instance, resistance to pesticides, faster reproduction, and/or carrier of a stronger disease. Theoretical, yes. But a concern regardless.

[@freewillftw]

I just love this channel, videos are well made and the presenter is beautiful.

[@Holobrine]

The question of editing human DNA is increasingly whether we should and less whether we could.

[@SakuraStallion]

What about the animals that eat those mosquitos? Will the shrinking of their population affect the ecosystem? If it makes a drastic change will it be worth the fewer cases of malaria?

[@aidan2857]

I believe it is extremely better to get rid of mosquitoes rather than parasite resistance because no mosquitoes are better then harmless mosquitoes

[@Jferrs]

Making mosquitos infertile would be a terrible idea for conservation... Many animals eat mosquitos.

[@paradox...]

Joss is back!

[@redsauce9135]

Simply adding the Vox logo to a thumbnail is clickbait, since every Vox video is damn interesting

[@connorfitz-d6852]

What an incredible video. Well balanced and informative

[@craigterris1802]

I mean, the people calling for a moratorium on gene drive research kind of have a point, using this technology to wipe out things like agricultural pests could have some serious unforeseen consequences, but wiping out malaria is such a net good that i think it's still worth doing.

[@ampPLrant]

My biggest concern is killing off mosquito populations is how it would affect other populations like fish and bats. I personally would be in favor of the resistance approach in which mosquitoes are made into bad hosts for malaria, but I am pretty strongly against the population reduction approach. It seems like it has a much larger chance of secondary effects.

[@milanfilipovic3648]

Found this video after learning about the Oxitec experiment in the Florida Keys. Really interesting!

[@Jib-Jab-4-life]

This is a dangerous misrepresentation of gene drive technology. First, the CRISPR system is not at all as accurate as sensational journalists like to make it out to be, sometimes resulting in deletions around the desired sequence. Second, gene drives are not self-contained, as a natural part of chromosomal inheritance is recombination. This means that from one generation to the next, different genes may end up in the drive package. The most significant argument against gene drives, however, is their irreversibility. Many research programs have been launched to study potential mitigation of "undesired" uses of gene drive technology, and the best thing they've publicly disclosed to have come up with was to release another gene drive that outcompetes the first. In complex systems such as ecosystems, it can be nearly impossible to predict the consequences of an action. In releasing these technologies without knowing /all/ of the variables, we're queued up for a race to the bottom.

[@HumbleMemeFarmer]

Nice! This is what humans should be about, using science to help the people AND the earth. I support this 100 percent.

[@nashanderson7209]

It's amazing to see countries, organizations, and continents of the world, rich and poor, black white asian cocasion all join together despite differences, to fight a disease. It shows that there are still many people who don't care whom you are, but believe we are all equal.

[@khalidsparrow101]

Hopefully this works. Please save millions of people.

[@AdamvanNoort]

Wow Vox on Netflix is just perfect!

[@GlynisDance]

Excellent video.

[@sbellaharris]

No Joss comment? Wow. Audience improved.

[@mogur00]

look harder

[@sushio4357]

Joss Fong explains so well

[@tana091]

This is not responsible or thorough journalism. There has been substantial research done into the agribusiness interests behind gene drives, which have not been mentioned at all here. Neither has the issue of ethics and consent which have been a major point of contention at the Convention on Biological Diversity where gene drives have been discussed. As well, the largest funder of gene drives is the US military, as was revealed in the Gene Drive Files. Why has none of this been mentioned in this piece? The piece gives most time and space to all those working on gene drives and promoting them (except for one interview).

[@PraxeoIogy]

A gene drive for infertility would be a concerning precedent to establish as a solution to any problem whatsoever. Parasite resistance should be the obvious way to go, but there will be a lot of vested interests to go the other route to establish the precedence for other reasons. The complexity of nature is greatly underestimated, and the stacking of dependencies of an ecosystem means that if keep removing elements of that ecosystem it will eventually collapse. No problem with genetic modification, we've done it as humans for thousands of years through gene selection. But to select genes FOR infertility should raise alarms bells as a first principle. As Elton John said, "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell, And there's no one there to raise them if you did". By the way, big SpaceX fan but Mars is just a stepping stone to bigger and better planets! It is still cheaper to maintain and even restore the earth's ecosystems at the moment! Subpar planets are light years away! 1 light year would take at least 20,000 years to travel! That's a harsh reality so the longer we can delay extinction the better. CRISPR for parasite resistance > CRISPR for infertility!

[@thrumugnyr]

I feel the mosquitos that are gene driven to not be malaria carriers is a much more beautiful solution compared to the infertile ones. I feel like if mosquitos just largely disappear, it might have a big impact on biodiversity, too (considering how many other animals eat insects). With the first solution, they'd still be around an annoying, but not deadly. Which would be nice.