Monday, August 15, 2016

Who Knew ... Mosquitos Can't Read


This kind of genius is something one only finds in Florida.  My sister lives there and I must warn her it's solar radiation overheating their brains and she must be wary or it will happen to her as well.

We leave it to the interested student to discover just what the hell that sign is supposed to accomplish other than exposing the owner to nationwide ridicule.  What the hell, tho, he's got a boat so what does he care.

(Ed:  why assume it was a man?)

Women can be equally thick but not usually in this way although some Florida women are happy to express their thickness vocally.  (Guardian:  Zika virus: Floridians fear 'Pandora's box' of genetically altered mosquitos)

Note:  yes, I did read the article and the motivation is just as thick as the sign.


They shake in their boots over terrorists who hardly ever do anything in America but resist doing anything about the worst killer in the world:  mosquitos.

Florida.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The fears are probably the result of mans terrible track record of trying to be smarter than Mother Nature. Mostly done by idiots introducing invasive species into the eco system. But the sciencers have just as bad a track record by not exploring all the outcomes.
I am lucky enough to eliminate mosquitos from my outdoor space with a Mosquito Magnet. A pheromone based trap powered by a propane heated that releases heat and CO2 simulating a target
Very effective and I live near lake and multiple ponds. Use to be very hard to be outside at dusk. Add the introduction of purple martin nesting boxes along with bat nesting boxes Dramatic reduction of mosquitos. Probably a cheaper answer than these programs they are running.
I wonder if this problem will be anymore successful as the millions of ideas to eliminate coachroaches from American homes. I doubt seeing as thr lifespan is so short to allow genetic changes happen so quickly

Unknown said...

There are few examples of successes with any kind of introduced animals and the cane toads in Australia are one of the more ludicrous examples.

The GMO aspect is sound the model but models always are. In this case, I'm not sure if you're any worse off if it doesn't work except for releasing more of those bloodsuckers which seems to happen anyway judging by how it spreads. I strongly believe life will find a way and for much more than Jurassic Park as there are the seed cones for some trees which won't germinate unless they have been burned in a forest fire. How the hell did a plant ever figure that out.

Even so, I'm not much concerned with this one as practically any mutation will kill either the subject or the offspring, in this case the latter. It's not such a sophisticated change, really except this induced mutation only kills the offspring. Maybe it works that life finds a way and fixes itself over time but that seems highly improbably when the modified population is only refreshed from the lab. Nothing is air tight but the case seems strong.

Unknown said...

You have seen before where I'm strongly supportive of natural solutions and they would be perfect if only people used them. The boxes and the nests are probably near-zero maintenance (I guess) but even so they may use aerosols or nasty stuff on the skin instead.

Anonymous said...

Purple martins will only nest in a clean box. They have to be cleaned out each season. Bat boxes if made from cedar will last years and years some of mine ate 6 years old and still fine

Unknown said...

Hopefully someone sees that and goes to town rather than making silly signs which won't catch a single skeeter.