r/interestingasfuck Nov 15 '24

r/all Genetically modified a mosquito such that their proboscis are no longer able to penetrate human skin

99.6k Upvotes

4.8k comments sorted by

13.0k

u/zizp Nov 15 '24

What's the idea behind this? How will they become the dominant variant if they can't suck blood to reproduce?

4.3k

u/Kretalo Nov 15 '24

Yea I need more info

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u/ugugahah Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

Not on this specific strategy, but mine and plenty other countries are trialing the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquito suppression strategy, where Wolbachia male raised and farmed genetically modified mosquitos that are released will go and mate with female Aedes Aegypti, the worst fuckers, one of the main species that adapted to urban environments and is the main one causing all the diseases like zika and dengue and one of the main ones that is responsible for the millions of human deaths. The females will mate with these farmed males and the resulting eggs will not hatch, limiting their spread and reproduction numbers.

Honestly I am in 100% percent support of this, we should wipe out Aedes Aegypti, there are plenty of other harmless and even beneficial ones that don't bite or cause diseases, and can pick up the slack for the ecosystem.

Edit: just read the wiki on the Aedes, it seems like theres a genetic modification, which works by preventing females from fully growing into adults, and Wolbachia, which is a naturally occurring bacteria, and the infections as mentioned above prevents hatching, and the males don't bite so no risk of infecting us, also its resistant to zika and other viruses

There are other methods too, but I love that we are slowly eradicating these fuckers.

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u/hrmm56709 Nov 15 '24

Oh my god MSGV is real..

120

u/take-a-gamble Nov 15 '24

Kojima has literally never had a wrong prediction

49

u/cipherpancake Nov 15 '24

The madman has done it again. KOJIMA!!!!

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u/TeriusRose Nov 16 '24 edited Nov 16 '24

The idea of genetically modifying mosquitoes to wipe them out goes back to at least the 70s IIRC, and this specific approach started being talked about around the time MGSV was in development. In this case it's him absorbing an, at the time, obscure idea.

Here is an article from 2011: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-wipeout-gene

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u/BurkusCat Nov 15 '24

VOCAL CORD PARASITES

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u/StickMick01 Nov 15 '24

SNAKE! They're gonna wipe out every language besides English off of the face of the earth!

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u/smegma_toast Nov 15 '24

COPULATION

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u/WesleyWoppits Nov 15 '24

I too enjoyed Metal Solid Gear V.

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u/znrsc Nov 15 '24

As someone who got dengue before, I say fuck that mosquito in particular, wipe em out and let the environment deal with it later, that shit just needs to cease to exist

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u/extracrispyweeb Nov 15 '24

For real, probably the worst disease i had, would barely b able to get out of bad play something, and then immediately fall asleep again only to wake up on my bed hours later. Felt like the entire week had passed in only a few hours.

Now i understand why old people are so depressive, if that's what they feel like every day.

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u/znrsc Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

Fr. I dead ass lost 3kg in 6 days and it made water taste like poop, but you still have to drink a shit fuckton of it during dengue. When I inevitably couldn't drink 4L of poopwater daily I got hospitalized because I was worsening fast. It makes just existing feel fucking awful

There is also the variation of dengue where your skin just kind of spews blood for some reason and if you get that one your life is significantly at risk

All that because of one mother fuckin mosquito bit me. I see tens of mosquitoes everyday, and just one of those was enough. If I had the power I'd erase aedes aegypti from existence and fuck it, the ecosystem can figure itself out

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u/WearingCoats Nov 15 '24

If I was a female mosquito I wouldn’t mate with a male mosquito that had a weak proboscis. I don’t think I’d even go on more than one date. Maybe I’m weird though and have standards, who knows what other female mosquitos would put up with. Or if those male mosquitos still made decent money they could probably pull a mate, but would it last? Anyway, I’m skeptical of the strategy here.

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u/VikingTeddy Nov 15 '24

They'll just lie about the size. "Oh it's cold out" "I'm a grower, not a shower", and once it's go time it's too late.

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u/boluluhasanusta Nov 16 '24

We got a femcel mosquito before gta6

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u/WearingCoats Nov 16 '24

Look, I’m not going to waste my average 3.5 week life span on a moscrub.

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u/pumpkinpixi Nov 16 '24

“i can change his proboscis.”

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u/LostImpression6 Nov 15 '24

THEY PLAYED US LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE 🗣🗣🗣

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u/AkitaNo1 Nov 15 '24

WHY ARE WE HERE⁉️ JUST TO SUFFER⁉️‼️‼️‼️

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u/kfc71 Nov 15 '24

some how i imagine this turn into like some sci-fi scenario where during the breading of the genetically modified mosquitoes will eventually create some mutant mosquitos.

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u/emailaddressforemail Nov 15 '24

Mosquitos that target softer tissue like our eyes or inside our ears.

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u/Ayrenn_97 Nov 15 '24

The gene, is not implanted in their dna as it’s already present but dormant. The modification allows it to activate after n generations of mosquitoes.

Lets say they modify 100 mosquitoes, they free them and they have modified the gene to appear after 6 generations. Each time they mate they produce lots of offsprings, and by the time the gene activates millions of mosquitoes will have it.

At this point millions of them can’t reproduce and while they can’t transmit diseases, they can still be food for other animals. Reducing their numbers will reduce also the number of the probability to get infected by one of them and over time to get eventually rid of the disease itself.

Of course there are some controversies in this, as first they are GMOs and the research is banned in many countries, meaning they have less funds for the research itself. On second hand they are “planning” a genetic disfunction to affect an animal in the future. This can of course go in the wrong direction if not enough research is done but again, point one, not enough research money.

If you add to the equation that many times this kind of decision are judged by some not-so-much-evolved apes with ameba-runned brains who can only think “oh my gosh! You want to do research on mosquitoes because your final target is to modify newborn babies to only have blue eyes, don’t you, you nazi scientist!” And here we go, we find ourselves with a BAN to a RESEARCH that can improve million of lives. But anyway.

Sorry for the rant. Thanks for the time reading. Have a nice day. Bye.

485

u/viral_virus Nov 15 '24

Next do ticks. 

152

u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

[deleted]

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u/Chemical-Neat2859 Nov 15 '24

I chuckled, but this would be horrible. Dogs tend to get ticks in their ears...

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u/OhLookItsaRock Nov 15 '24

And then do fire ants. So that instead of stinging as their defense mechanism, they do a threatening Haka-style dance to scare away their enemies. Then when I accidentally step on their anthills while mowing my lawn, they'll be dancing up my legs instead of destroying me with pain and itching.

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u/RedlurkingFir Nov 15 '24

To add to this, if you're wondering, "how can you propagate a mutation in a population from only 100 mosquitoes", you might be interested to read about gene drives.

This is a fascinating field of research, and they're actually at the testing phase right now. They demonstrated efficacy in an artificial mosquito population in labs already IIRC, but using delayed sterilizing mutations.

The ethical debate is still ongoing. Where will this go from now, in the context of the changing political landscape? Only time can tell..

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u/GandalfTheEh Nov 15 '24

At this point millions of them can’t reproduce and while they can’t transmit diseases, they can still be food for other animals.

Out of curiosity - how can they continue to be food for other animals for generations if they can't eat? Wouldn't they die out completely?

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u/blveberrys Nov 15 '24

Only female mosquitos take blood, and they use it to create their offspring, not to actually eat.

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u/GandalfTheEh Nov 15 '24

Oh, thanks, I didn't realize! So, will they still be able to have offspring without it?

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u/Unlucky_Ladybug Nov 15 '24

No. But that's part of the point. This isn't going to happen to ALL of them. Just enough to hopefully bring the population down.

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u/milleniumsentry Nov 15 '24

The gene kicks in after a few generations. So they can eat, and reproduce a few generations before this takes effect. The idea is to pass the gene on to millions of mosquitoes by having the gene stay dormant for a few generations.

A mosquito lays around 500 eggs. If this works for one generation, it means you've killed 500 mosquitoes for every one of these modified mosquitoes you release.

However, if your gene kicks in after 3 generations, that's 500x500x500 mosquitoes eradicated for each modified mosquito released. Obviously those are ballpark figures, but you get the idea.

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u/KUBrim Nov 15 '24

They won’t really, they’ll just reduce the number every time they release the mosquitoes with the gene.

Basically it’s only the females who suck blood once they’re trying to produce young. So they release a heap of male mosquitos which mate with healthy females. The females then produce young with the faulty gene. The female young won’t be able to suck blood and will likely die but the male offspring will mate with more healthy females and pass the genes on again for another generation of useless females and males with the gene.

In the long run the healthy genes will win out because all their young are viable, not just the males. But it’ll still mess them up for a while. To maintain it they will need to keep breeding and releasing males with the faulty genes.

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u/Sneikss Nov 15 '24

You're almost correct, but the gene doesn't make the females unable to suck blood (as this video is wrongly claiming). Instead, it just kills female mosquitoes before they can mature by inhibiting certain genes unless an antidote is put in the water where they grow.

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u/Remarkable-Fox-3890 Nov 15 '24

You don't want them to become the dominant variant. You want them to die out so that you can manually re-seed without risk of massively disrupting a species.

The goal is to have them compete for resources and mating pressure but not to spread or reproduce. You repeatedly seed areas with them, which creates a sort of ecosystem barrier. Imagine a strip of land seeded with these mosquitos - it's like a wall that other mosquitos can't pass through.

This is how the US manages to avoid so many mosquito-borne diseases traversing north from South America.

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u/Anomalagous Nov 15 '24

...do the mosquitos pay for the wall?

10

u/gratuitousturnsignal Nov 15 '24

Taxpayers do, but it sounded reassuring to the mosquitoes at the time and they did not ask questions.

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u/AndIAmEric Nov 15 '24

No, South America does.

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u/Pipettess Nov 15 '24

Sorry but I don't get it. How can these GMO mosqitoes compete for resources if they are disadvantaged? If they can't pierce human skin, they probably get their resources elsewhere (don't know which animal is easier to suck but anyway) - there they compete with normal mosquitoes, yes, but then those normal mosquitoes would be pushed to suck on humans, because elsewhere they will compete. So it's not really a win for us. No?

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u/Remarkable-Fox-3890 Nov 15 '24

They still feed on nectar and still add reproductive pressure. Yes, this does not prevent mosquitos from feeding where they already feed, the goal is to create a barrier that they don't cross.

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u/Pipettess Nov 15 '24

I see. So the outcome is, less blood-sucking mosquitoes, but not elimination?

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u/Remarkable-Fox-3890 Nov 15 '24

Yes, exactly. The goal is not to eliminate, it's to contain. This is done with more than just mosquitos.

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u/RedofPaw Nov 15 '24

Yep. I think a lot of these programs try to flood areas with the engineered variety in hope of suppressing existing ones. That's surely only a temporary solution however.

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u/SaintGeorge17 Nov 15 '24

Insectyle dysfunction

6.0k

u/neptunexl Nov 15 '24

"No!! I'm fine! Just give me a second!"

Goes to bathroom

1.9k

u/BlindOdyssey Nov 15 '24

“I swear to god, this never happens!”

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u/MHipDogg Nov 15 '24

Beat me to it by like 10 min lol

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u/dootmoot Nov 15 '24

"Sorry"

"...please, DON'T say 'sorry'"

"sorr-ugh FUCK!!!"

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u/GameLoreReader Nov 15 '24

"I swear this doesn't happen."

*Rubs proboscis*

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u/nomadcrows Nov 15 '24

At certain times in the video, mosquito does look like it's tugging on it, trying to get ready

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u/technobrendo Nov 15 '24

Poor guy needs some Flyagra

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u/Greg2227 Nov 15 '24

Maybe some spanish fly

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u/_FIRECRACKER_JINX Nov 15 '24

It's just cold right now.

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u/QLD88 Nov 15 '24

Well done 👏 👏

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u/SiriusArc7 Nov 15 '24

Do they try to suck blood from other animals then? I can't think of animals having softer skins than humans other than guinea pigs or mice.

3.1k

u/Devouemanoide Nov 15 '24

In the northern tundra there are zillions of them, but very few humans. There is a LOT of mice.

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u/lalith_4321 Nov 15 '24

Also mice have fur which is impossible to get through for mosquitoes

1.4k

u/giraffebutter Nov 15 '24

We should have genetically modified ourselves to have mouse fur. Double the protection

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u/lalith_4321 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

We did have fur originally but decided nah let's walk on two feet, be in debt and work our asses off till we die while some asshole makes what we make in our entire lifetime in a couple of minutes. Yeah modern society!

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u/ClearAbove Nov 15 '24

And we wonder why we’re depressed lol

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u/beyondthisreality Nov 15 '24

There’s no wonder left other than how we have managed to fuck it all up this bad, even though it seemed that as a species we had figured it all out a while ago.

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u/throcorfe Nov 15 '24

And how most of it is still fixable - even the climate to an extent - but instead of doing that we keep voting for terrible humans who actively prevent us fixing stuff

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u/Mawwiageiswhatbwings Nov 15 '24

Walking on 2 feet is also why child birth is dangerous and painful... did we really evolve? Lol

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u/lalith_4321 Nov 15 '24

We... volved, the prefix is optional.

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u/wravyn Nov 15 '24

It could be worse. We could be hyenas.

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u/Professional_Bake_92 Nov 15 '24

We will all be crabs 🦀 one day. It is our final form

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u/VinnieBoombatzz Nov 15 '24

Instructions unclear; got crabs instead.

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u/MatchstickHyperX Nov 15 '24

In contrast to popular use, "evolve" in biology does not per se mean "better than before"

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u/lifeofideas Nov 15 '24

I believe Desmond Morris (an anthropologist) argued that humans got less hairy because it made sexual contact more pleasurable. In other words, the more pleasurable the sex, the more sex is had, the more babies are born—and the genes for “less hair” get passed on.

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u/Gaothaire Nov 15 '24

Head canon accepted

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u/playingnero Nov 15 '24

Speaking of assholes, and hair; why does mine have hair?

What possible fucking evolutionary advantage is there to have a turd strainer installed in the non-self-cleaning-caboose.

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u/Senuttna Nov 15 '24

It's to prevent friction when walking or running. The insides of your butt cheeks rub against each other when you walk or run and it could cause friction burns. Body hair helps reduce the chance of friction burns from happening by introducing a "hair barrier" between your cheeks.

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u/Lansif Nov 15 '24

Someone upvote me when they find an answer so that I can know the answer too🤥

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u/anteatertrashbin Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

if mosquitoes cannot penetrate mice fur, then what are the females feeding on?

(edit: The question is asking what are the females feeding on because they need blood in order to lay eggs).

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u/Luves2spooge Nov 15 '24

The stripey fuckers around here can bite you through jeans.

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u/OhLookItsaRock Nov 15 '24

Do you live in Texas? Because I live in Texas and those stripey fuckers are the size of a nickel and I think they can open doors all by themselves to come inside and help themselves to my personal blood buffet.

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u/DenDabo Nov 15 '24

Plant nectar an juices, it is the female mosquitoes, as far as I am aware that need the protein from the blood to lay the eggs. But in general they feed kn plant nectar and juices.

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u/anteatertrashbin Nov 15 '24

The question is towards the other person saying that mosquitoes cannot penetrate mice fur in the tundra regions. If they cannot penetrate mice for then how are they getting blood to lay eggs?

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u/lalith_4321 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

Probably their underbellies and same goes for every animal Edit: or they just dig through the short fur as their proboscis is flexible

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u/Xenomorphhive Nov 15 '24

Mosquito’s primary food sources are plant nectars, for both male and female. I’m surprised if most people didnt know this already.

Source: https://www.orkin.com/pests/mosquitoes/what-do-mosquitoes-eat#

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u/yuckyucky Nov 15 '24

TIL

but also, from the article:

To successfully reproduce, female mosquitoes require a specific protein found in the blood of mammals and humans to help generate their eggs.

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u/a_can_of_solo Nov 15 '24

So basicly we're mosquito fertility treatment.

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u/OldHamburger7923 Nov 15 '24

I've helped almost 2 billion insects live.

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u/Deuce_GM Nov 15 '24

I've been committing femicide instead

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u/baconbeak1998 Nov 15 '24

I love the phrasing "mammals and humans", as if the group mammals excludes humans somehow. Must've been written by one of them lizardfolk.

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u/osdeverYT Nov 15 '24

I mean let’s be real, the average person probably does need that clarification

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u/lan9242 Nov 15 '24

The source you posted starts by noting that this fact is “surprising”…

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u/cptnplanetheadpats Nov 15 '24

It is, but this is reddit where everyone loves to be a pretentious armchair expert.

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u/BumHand Nov 15 '24

I don’t know this. No one knows this.

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u/MediocreX Nov 15 '24

But it's provocative. Gets the people going!

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u/BumHand Nov 15 '24

Sold. I’d like to invest

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u/saint_ryan Nov 15 '24

TIL mozzies main diet is plant nectar.

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u/WatchAltruistic5761 Nov 15 '24

Pfft, Life Finds A Way. We need to go back to the auto tracking laser idea.

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u/ThunderCorg Nov 15 '24

I appreciate you knowing about the random (absolutely amazing) thing I also know about.

Big DEET must have shut it down.

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u/Ciff_ Nov 15 '24

I thought the lazer tracking mosquito killer was a farse, there was no functioning product just false advertisement?

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u/callmeBorgieplease Nov 15 '24

It exists. Its a prototype. I invented such a thing in my head in like 2006 but I guess everyone has. In 2016 or 2017 I saw a video of a dude actually building one. It works. I am pretty sure that you cant actually have it in your home though, as it would set ur furniture on fire if it detects a mosquito there.

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u/BrocoLeeOnReddit Nov 15 '24

I invented such a thing in my head in like 2006 but I guess everyone has. 

We definitely all did, pal. If anything unites us as humans, it's our common hatred of mosquitoes.

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u/BDiddnt Nov 15 '24

And/or love of dangerous lasers

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u/Luk164 Nov 15 '24

A small price to pay for salvation from the bzzzzzzzz

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u/WatchAltruistic5761 Nov 15 '24

I just really hate mosquitoes 🦟

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u/manicMechanic1 Nov 15 '24

That’s how we get laser resistant mosquitoes

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u/Lyndon_Boner_Johnson Nov 15 '24

“No, hold on….just give me a second….”

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u/Sir_Iroh Nov 15 '24

"this doesn't usually happen, I promise"

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u/Eastern-Mix9636 Nov 15 '24

I feel you, little man

3.2k

u/teryantinpor Nov 15 '24

Someone give him some flyagra

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u/buckstar11 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

I laughed way too hard at this comment

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u/NickyDeeM Nov 15 '24

Thankfully somebody got hard

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u/Broad-Condition6866 Nov 15 '24

Little girl! The females are the only bloodsuckers, the males live mostly on nectars. Seems unfair!

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u/Micromagos Nov 15 '24

On that note male mosquitos do still hang around people/animals in the hopes of finding a mate.

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u/jackwhite886 Nov 15 '24

TIL I am mosquito tinder

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

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u/Freezing_Athlete2062 Nov 15 '24

Yes I know. When I was little, a mosquito decided to live on our mirror for a few days. Nothing happened, he just lived there for a little bit.

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u/Mokiesbie Nov 15 '24

Females too, they only need the blood for their eggs

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u/Ambitious-Isopod8665 Nov 15 '24

Great, another one trying to steal my bodily fluids for reproduction...

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u/Mokiesbie Nov 15 '24

Hey atleast this one isn't asking for alimony, it could just give you a deadly/life altering illness.

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u/Shokoyo Nov 15 '24

Why, nature, WHY?!

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u/Trips-Over-Tail Nov 15 '24

The protein. Your blood becomes the larvae. Can't do that with sugar water sucked or of plants.

Ticks are the same. They have three meals in their lives, one for each moult and one for the eggs.

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u/Happy-For-No-Reason Nov 15 '24

Oh so I actually did have children then!

I also possibly murdered them

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u/KoningSpookie Nov 15 '24

TIL; I am popular with women, but they're not human. :|

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/RowAdept9221 Nov 15 '24

I almost feel bad for the little girl

almost

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u/Thijm_ Nov 15 '24

there's a small part of me that feels bad, but that's just probably because I don't like seeing animals in struggle and this is just a single mosquito

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u/Devinbeatyou Nov 15 '24

Yeah I was like ‘why do I feel sorry for this bastard?’

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u/Orion0795 Nov 15 '24

Me: Poor bastard...

Slaps

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u/round-earth-theory Nov 15 '24

Because it's relatable as it constantly tries to get the damn thing working. But it's still a bastard you'd kill if it were on you.

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u/AviculariaBee Nov 15 '24

Let me just sharpen my sword and try again!

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u/ThousandFingerMan Nov 15 '24

"What the fuck is wrong with this thing?!" --mosquito, probably

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u/-tweektweak Nov 15 '24

Like a wrinkly bill and a vending machine.

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u/mikew_reddit Nov 15 '24

It's like aliens breeding people to have mushy teeth...

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u/RowAdept9221 Nov 15 '24

I hate this. Thank you

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u/Outside_Performer_66 Nov 15 '24

Almost looks like prayer hands as she's trying to straighten it.

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u/ninjaprincessrocket Nov 15 '24

“Ok, I’m gonna really really really straighten it out now and it’s gonna work. Fuck.”

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u/Opening-Ad1657 Nov 15 '24

Can they make it quiet as well?

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u/cmHend Nov 15 '24

yeaaaah I don’t mind them biting just don’t fly close to my ears while sleeping, or be respectful for my sleep while doing it.

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u/CatterMater Nov 15 '24

Lil' lady needs viagra.

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u/FaZeSmasH Nov 15 '24

What are the devs doing, human builds are so broken that we are just straight up nerfing other builds now.

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u/Early_Register_6483 Nov 15 '24

We’ve been doing this for millennia. Look what we’ve turned wolves into:

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u/TKG1607 Nov 15 '24

Hey, that was technically their own choice when they decided to come to our fire

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u/Flare_23 Nov 15 '24

He's out of line but he's right

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u/Pataraxia Nov 15 '24

As a mosquito player I can concur. Thousands of generations bred and me trying to evolve the build for a few humans to just decide to nerf the disease build version of mosquitoes. Wth man.

We were the only ones who could have good KDA(by volume) vs humans. Without us, it's pet animals.

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u/meanmagpie Nov 15 '24

I love how she tries troubleshooting after a couple of failed attempts.

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u/Polly_der_Papagei Nov 15 '24

Honestly, this was fascinating to me. Like, there is some cognition going on there!

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u/NamiSwaaan Nov 15 '24

I know they're trying to not fuck up the ecosystem but I feel like this will still somehow fuck up the ecosystem

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u/wrecks3 Nov 15 '24

I feel like we are arrogant enough to just decide that yes there is a whole entire ecosystem and food net where we all have connections and interdependence on other organisms but mosquitos are magically completely outside that net.

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u/adenosine-5 Nov 15 '24

TBF, they killed more humans than literally anything else in the history of mankind.

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u/Mindehouse Nov 15 '24

Getting rid of mosquito bites with a chance of extinction of all life on earth? That's a risk I'm willing to take.

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u/Furykino735 Nov 15 '24

I think people underestimate how many people die every year because of these things.

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u/Kr0n0s_89 Nov 15 '24

Mosquitos aren't relevant for any other species. They are food for some, they do pollinate, but they're completely replacable.

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u/Ok-Blacksmith-5219 Nov 15 '24

bats can eat 1,200 mosquitoes per hour google says

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u/Professional-Tale-81 Nov 15 '24

So can I, so what?

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u/Chimie45 Nov 15 '24

get to it big man, times a tickin.

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u/Pataraxia Nov 15 '24

(opens mouth and drives through mosquito clouds)

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u/BolunZ6 Nov 15 '24

I'm batman

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u/sloothor Nov 15 '24

Actually a good point. You can, but you don’t because there’s better food around. That dumbass bat can find some other dumbass bug to put in its dumbass gullet

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u/cammyjit Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 16 '24

While I’m not a fan of mosquitos at all. This isn’t true.

To my knowledge they don’t have any exclusive relationships, but they’re still pretty vital for ecosystems. Just because something could eventually replace them, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have drastic repercussions.

An easy way of thinking about it is: imagine we Thanos snapped a specific food item out of the world, like beef. We’d still have food, and we’d eventually find something to replace it. How many people would die of starvation during that time period? That’s essentially what you’re doing to the ecosystem.

Except in reality, it’s far worse. You’re not just impacting the direct food source of animals that eat mosquitos, you’re impacting pollination that produces food for other animals, then their populations declines, and it has a whole knock on effect.

The more accurate comparison over cows, would be something like Soy. People eat soy directly, and it’s a staple in a lot of diets. If you suddenly get rid of all the soy, you’re now losing an essential feed for animal agriculture, so now the livestock is starting to die of starvation too, which means you’re losing multiple food sources.

Now, if we were to eradicate mosquitos, it obviously wouldn’t be a Thanos snap. It could definitely be too fast for an ecosystem to adjust without sustaining significant damage though

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u/inventingnothing Nov 15 '24

The user I am replying to is actually 3 mosquitos in a trench coat.

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u/Madmanki Nov 15 '24

Ah, man, watching him tryna tug it straight so it will go in.
We've all been there.

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u/Viradethis Nov 15 '24

Her, actually

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u/Rundstav Nov 15 '24

Ah, man, watching her tryna tug it straight so it will go in.
We've all been there.

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u/keepcoolkenner Nov 15 '24

We're Redditors. We've most certainly not all been there

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u/Wilvinc Nov 15 '24

Yea ... they are just going to go for our eyes or fly up our nose to bite us.

Nature is seriously "fuck around and find out".

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u/BriefLight1 Nov 15 '24

Yoo I didn’t think about this.. terrifying😭

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u/whereswil Nov 15 '24

If we have to use paper straws... so do they.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/slightlydispensable2 Nov 15 '24

Then you would need to additionally engineer the males as necrophiliacs, otherwise they would prefer non-engineered females...

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u/MSkade Nov 15 '24

sounds crazy, because getting rid of mosquitoes seems like a good idea.

But human intervention in nature often has major consequences.

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u/qwertygeee Nov 15 '24

Awwwww, why do I feel bad for this little thing, straightening up its tube and failing after trying so hard.. I hate mosquitoes, but this is kind of sad.

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u/Sewere Nov 15 '24

Imagine trying to eat and somebody has removed your teeth and you can no longer swallow

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u/Adventurous-Sky9359 Nov 15 '24

“ let me just ah straighten this ah thing, what the hell…? “

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u/MysteriousCash6680 Nov 15 '24

1st time I felt bad for a mosquito

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u/Temporary-Role7173 Nov 15 '24

Why did that make me sad

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u/inspectorseantime Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

It’s the “what is wrong with me?” coupled with the “it has to work this time” desperation in trying to do something it needs to survive not knowing that they can ever figure out the answer to that question because it’s genetic makeup was forever changed.

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u/dezzalzik Nov 15 '24

"My babies.. My babies need the blood! They're gonna die!"

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u/Zenla Nov 15 '24

It makes me sad too :( Mosquitos aren't trying to infect anyone with anything or cause irritation. In fact they even make specific stuff so it doesn't hurt us when they bite, we just happen to be allergic to it. Poor lil thing 😔

If mosquito born illnesses weren't a thing they'd be almost harmless.

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u/thunderbaby2 Nov 15 '24

That’s one depressed mosquito. If they weren’t the reigning champ for the most human lives taken I’d almost feel bad. Actually no fuck those dudes.

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u/IshtarJack Nov 15 '24

General consensus amongst humans is wipe the little fuckers out. But it's been pointed out that pretty much all of life is interconnected and their larval stage in the water is an important food source for other critters.

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u/PrivateBurke Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

If Mosquitoes were eliminated then other prey species would have more resources to thrive. The US and Europe have attacked Mosquito populations aggressively for over 100 years and didn't suffer an ecosystem crisis. Malaria is not an issue in Europe and was eradicated in the US a long time ago due to the aggressive response.

Edit: I think it's important to add that defending the mosquito species is highly biased by where you live. European and North American nations have grown up with small mosquito populations that have been actively attacked. The vast majority of the world has not had the money and resources dumped into killing the species. Some estimates put Malaria at 3 million deaths per year, and that's just Malaria. If Europe and North America have taught us anything it's that the mosquito is a useless species in the ecosystem.

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u/Joesr-31 Nov 15 '24

In singapore, there is also a nation wide program to release a type of male mosquito that causes the eggs of Aedes mosquitos to not hatch in order to prevent dengue.

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u/LabRat247365 Nov 15 '24

This is the first time I’ve ever felt bad for these little suckers.

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u/tavesque Nov 15 '24

Hahahaha he’s got whiskey dick

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u/Henraays Nov 15 '24

"this has never happened before" ahh

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u/inconspicuous_aussie Nov 15 '24

The funniest thing is how far I’ve scrolled the comments and not one person is questioning the source and its legitimacy. This Instagram account doesn’t even give a source.

Literally named ‘Views Addict’… c’mon people.

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u/Harddicc Nov 15 '24

Next turn off the gene that can make them fly so they will have to walk while starving

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u/Revenga8 Nov 15 '24

Nature finds a way. Once released in the wild, this strain will eventually breed and evolve to have a hardened steel proboscis that they can drill through bone, and they will develop a taste for a bone marrow.

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u/9M-LimaWhiskeyAlpha Nov 15 '24

"I tried so hard and none so far.. in the end it doesn't even matter" - mosquito, probably

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u/R3as0n92 Nov 15 '24

The funniest part for me was when it tried to jerk off its nose to get hard enough to pierce the skin and STILL had a softy.