There are high probabilities of unintended consequences.

Thanks for the link

Let me get this right: You don't want innoculations for whatever reason, for argument's sake let's say your religion. Now some company is going to come in and administer them to you anyway, next it will be the State, then the Federal Government. Oh, and of course, we all will be paying for it. Without even knowing what is being injected. Or even given an opportunity to opt out.

The book it is excerpted from is excellent. I think that link shows links to other excerpts to check out, too.

Yep. Familiar with most of that and I agree. Thanks for the article - it was more comprehensive than most I've seen!

In case you missed the other post...
EXCERPTS FROM SAVING THE MOSQUITOES -- The War on DDT
http://www.jamesphogan.com/books/info.ph...

So really, all they're trying to do is stunt the reproduction of the species. While it's a fascinating attempt, I have to wonder about the cost-effectiveness compared to like... DDT.

More EPA rules about endangering the bats' natural habitat.

It does vaguely remind me of the hubris of the fictional "evil industrialists" in Jurassic Park.

this is a wonderful development;;; we can just hope that,
downstream, we aren't besieged by critters whom
the mosquitoes have been keeping at bay. -- j

Yep, I was going to say this, quoting the linked pdf...

"Although stinging incidents involving humans, livestock, and domestic animals have increased in Africanized areas, annual human deaths from bee stings remain lower than those associated with lightning strikes."
.................. and.....?

Not to mention that the Gypsy Moth AND Africanizes Honey Bees were cross-breeds, not due to injections of DNA fragments from other species, right? Is there a difference?

Bat lovers will fret over the possible loss of bats' food supply.... There Will Be Opposition!
:)

It's part of herpes DNA, it's not Herpes they're 'injecting.'

Nearly every food product you can eat has been 'genetically modified'... the old way, through selective breeding (research carrots, corn and the like) or with modern 'faster' methods that can cross species' lines.

Whatever... your mind's made up...
Enjoy!


and it's 'gets "loose" not lose...

This one scares me. What if even one of the females gets lose??? She breeds and now they begin to multiply and pretty soon every one could be given Herpes and e. coli.....

I don't trust anything that is genetically modified. They don't even go in my garden...

I agree. Interesting discussion, thank you.

Jan

As a person who firmly believes that each should do as they please provided they to not infringe on my belief based on reason, enjoy your GMO.

I try to avoid placing as many foreign unnatural chemicals in my body as possible. As long as I can avoid the GMO's we can both be perfectly happy.

I'll have to look into this further. We have largely solved the mosquito issue in what was once called Mosquito Lagoon in east central Florida.

But everything we eat and drink is the result of such SCREWing. Wheat is a triploid cross between a grass and two grains, for example (I think I remember this correctly - did not look up to confirm). All of the veggies and fruit we eat is the result of messing with the genetics of wild plants (compare a tomato to a huckleberry!).

I am on the other side of the curve on this one: I want lots more GMO that do not need fertilizers and are self-perpetuating (no secret special seeds). I want new interesting things just for the fun of it - like the luminous plants.

Jan
(I keep looking for empty wild gypsy moth cocoons - which are supposed to be about 4" long. If I can find one, I will wash it, soak it, and spin silk from the fibres. That would be soooo neat.)

Originating from Europe, the gypsy moth was initially introduced into the United States near Boston in 1869 by Etienne Leopold Truvelot, an amateur entomologist attempting to interbreed the gypsy moth and native caterpillars, with the goal of establishing a silkworm industry in North America.

I guess I was using a loose definition of "genetic" in the sense when scientists decide to "inter-breed" while that may not be a direct "gene-splicing" method they are in deed making Genetic alterations.

Much like the African bees and the American Honey bee.

the long and short is when Science decides to SCREW with nature the results are never good over the long term.

woodlema -

Your information is incorrect. There were no genetic alterations to the gypsy moth: it was the natural type breed that was brought over to try to start a temperate zone silk production industry. (This would be quite feasible; there is some indication that European silk from gypsy moths was cultivated on the island of Kos in about 2000 BC.) The other thing that you have to take into consideration is that the gypsy moth was introduced in the 19th century! No genetic mods available back then. The example of introducing European swine into N.Am. to crossbreed with local populations is a more similar situation than comparing them to bio-engineered male mosquitoes.

Likewise the African bees were not genetically modified - they were just African bees. (If they had been genetically modified, the results might have been better!) They crossed with honeybees and the result ended up with the most 'disadvantageous' aspects of each species.

Segue: I owned a stallion that was the result of a similar hopeful experiment. The sire was 17 hands and dappled but aggressive in personality; the dam was about 16 hands, and very sweet. The owners were hoping for a 17 hand, dappled, sweet horse. What they got was a 16.3 hand aggressive bay. They gave him to me.

I have been watching the development of this technique for several years and I hope that scientists do not hesitate in improving this world by eradicating diseases in such an intelligent fashion.

Jan

Must read Dan Brown's " Inferno"

Sounds to me like the research has been done, so please send some of those genetically modified males to the Virgin Islands. I have had dengue twice, and it was bad enough, but so far have been spared the "chicken ganga", which is much worse.

Bring back legal DDT.
EXCERPTS FROM SAVING THE MOSQUITOES -- The War on DDT
http://www.jamesphogan.com/books/info.ph...