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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @01:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the other-pandemic dept.

Scientists have discovered a microbe that completely protects mosquitoes from being infected with malaria.

Scientists have discovered a microbe that completely protects mosquitoes from being infected with malaria. The team in Kenya and the UK say the finding has "enormous potential" to control the disease.

Malaria is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes, so protecting them could in turn protect people.

The researchers are now investigating whether they can release infected mosquitoes into the wild, or use spores to suppress the disease.

[...] "It's a new discovery. We are very excited by its potential for malaria control. It has enormous potential," Prof Steven Sinkins, from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, told the BBC.

This concept of disease control using microbes is not unprecedented. A type of bacteria called Wolbachia has been shown to make it harder for mosquitoes to spread dengue fever in real-world trials.

The scientists need to understand how the microbe spreads, so they plan to perform more tests in Kenya.

However, these approaches are relatively uncontroversial as the species is already found in wild mosquitoes and is not introducing something new.

It also would not kill the mosquitoes, so would not have an impact on ecosystems that are dependent on them as food. This is part of other strategies like a killer fungus that can almost completely collapse mosquito populations in weeks.

Journal Reference
Herren, J.K., Mbaisi, L., Mararo, E. et al. A microsporidian impairs Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes, Nat Commun 11, 2187 (2020) (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16121-y)


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Immerman on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:11PM (22 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:11PM (#990678)

    >It also would not kill the mosquitoes, so would not have an impact on ecosystems that are dependent on them as food. This is part of other strategies like a killer fungus that can almost completely collapse mosquito populations in weeks.

    The species of mosquitoes that feed on humans are an invasive species almost everywhere they exist, so I don't see the problem in wiping them out. Even if you did so suddenly, they're a small enough portion of the overall "small flying insect" population that it's unlikely to have a huge impact before the next generation of displaced insects spread back into the abandoned niche. And if it takes several weeks there might not even be a significant slump.

    The real risk is that whatever strategy is used to wipe them out (poisons, disease, gene-drives, etc) will also wipe out lots of other native species (including the many other species of mosquitoes that are harmless to humans).

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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:36PM (16 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:36PM (#990700)

    No, the real risk is that malaria is eradicated and human population growth increases at an even more unsustainable rate. Humans are an invasive species almost everywhere they exist, so I don't see the problem in wiping them out.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:45PM (#990708)

      You must be a fascist, a racist, and a Nazi to even mention such an obvious fact. And, you probably have body odor and bad breath. I'll just let you reap the rewards of offending a few million snowflakes, LOL.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:54PM (#990717)

      Just use resource wars to wipe humans out.

    • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:03PM

      by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:03PM (#990721)
      Well you know what they say: Charity starts at home!
    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:12PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:12PM (#990727)

      Humans are an invasive species almost everywhere they exist, so I don't see the problem in wiping them out.

      Yet here you are?

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by Hartree on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:00PM (1 child)

        by Hartree (195) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:00PM (#990820)

        He must have invaded from the green site.

        • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @09:31PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @09:31PM (#990872)

          Careful with that green comment -- I'm using VT100 mode here.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:19PM (3 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:19PM (#990733) Journal

      No, the real risk is that malaria is eradicated and human population growth increases at an even more unsustainable rate.

      More that countered by improving child mortality and greatly reducing chronic malaria in the long term which would improve the economies of these regions faster than population growth. We actually have empirical support since malaria eradication has already been accompanied by strong reductions in population growth rate.

      • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:16PM (2 children)

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:16PM (#990800) Journal

        malaria eradication has already been accompanied by strong reductions in population growth rate.

        Regular stability and abundance does that, if Japan is any example.

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:31PM (1 child)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:31PM (#990839) Journal

          Regular stability and abundance does that

          Malaria eradication is a strong contributor to that IMHO.

    • (Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:03PM (2 children)

      by legont (4179) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:03PM (#990755)

      Not to worry too much. Once we are detected, galactic pest control facility will show up.

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 2) by Hartree on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:04PM (1 child)

        by Hartree (195) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:04PM (#990823)

        Well, if the mosquitos can qualify as a protected species with just Cobra Bubbles advocating for them, maybe we can start a direct mail campaign to save the humans.

        • (Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:40PM

          by legont (4179) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:40PM (#990891)

          Yeah, but I'd feel much better with radio silence strategy.

          --
          "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:31PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:31PM (#990806)

      Now why does anyone want to eradicate Melania? Her husband, sure, but leave her out of it

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:26PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:26PM (#990836)

      Same as any other species.....

      It is just that humans have figured out workarounds for the normal over population corrective measures. Thankfully in metro areas the population growth flattens out when the population density gets high enough.

      • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Tuesday May 05 2020, @08:10PM

        by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @08:10PM (#990847) Journal

        Local laws prohibit baiting when hunting EF.

        --
        В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
  • (Score: 2) by calmond on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:46PM (3 children)

    by calmond (1826) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:46PM (#990710)

    I remember when I learned that not all mosquitoes bite humans. It came as quite a surprise, and it definitely opens up some possibilities for selective eradication. I wouldn't want to eliminate an entire species for our convenience, but a small sub population is a different matter.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:15PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:15PM (#990730)

      I wouldn't want to eliminate an entire species for our convenience, but a small sub population is a different matter.

      I've learned that not all humans are criminals, but a small sub population. I wouldn't want to eliminate all humans, but a small sub population is a different matter.

      Problem is finding that distinction, no? Just like finding a vaccine ... "just" finding it, so easy! Oh wait ....

      Also you should learn that mosquitoes that bite humans, don't only bite humans.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:19PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:19PM (#990734)

        Here's how you find vaccines: inject bleach it does quite a number on the lungs in only one minute. It's the new Rik Roll'd!

      • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:38AM

        by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:38AM (#990951) Homepage

        Blood-sucking mosquitoes are a major killer of wildlife. Caribou get bitten enough to both become anemic and get so much swelling in the nasal passages that they suffocate. Mosquitoes transmit heartworm, which affects not only domestic dogs but also wild canids (100% of coyotes tested in Texas were heartworm-positive), reducing their lifespans. Probably plenty of other examples I don't know about. So yea, get rid of the fucking bloodsuckers. There are plenty of mosquito species that don't suck blood, but have been displaced by the invasive vampire types.

        --
        And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:28PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:28PM (#990887)

    The species of mosquitoes that feed on humans are an invasive species almost everywhere they exist, so I don't see the problem in wiping them out.

    Most disease bearing mosquitoes are brought into contact with humans from human incursions on the mosquito's habitat, not the other way around.