Mosquitos as Weapons

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/while-brazil-was-eradicating-zika-mosquitoes-america-made-them-into-weapons

by Vigier • 10 years ago

43 7 10 years ago

macintux• 10 years ago

When I was a kid in the 80s, I couldn't understand why non-aligned countries didn't love the US. Freedom, liberty, all that claptrap.

Adult is one long string of disillusionments.

aab0• 10 years ago

The left hand disagrees with the right hand... How much has polio eradication been set back by the CIA's decision to use polio vaccination as a front for hunting Osama bin Laden?

x5n1• 10 years ago

But they got him, which is nice. And I don't think that had anything to do with this.

michaelkeenan• 10 years ago

It's sad that humans choose other humans as their worst enemies. Mosquitoes are a much worse foe. We should be allying against mosquitoes, not allying with mosquitoes against each other!

This is explored in greater detail in this wonderful essay, Foes Without Faces: https://blog.jaibot.com/foes-without-faces/

Terr_• 10 years ago

But humans happen to be direct competitors for the exact same territory and resources as us!

Wily bastards too, you can't trust 'em...

rundmc• 10 years ago

There is a still a potential solution:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_technique

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/07/health/zika-virus-sterile-...

degenerate• 10 years ago

My favorite radiolab episode called 'kill em all' gives a very fun explanation of this technique. The episode is 2 years old, so Zika wasn't a problem yet, but it easily explains the sterilization science: http://www.radiolab.org/story/kill-em-all/

Mosquitos as Weapons

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