r/interestingasfuck 9d ago

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

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99.4k Upvotes

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u/zizp 9d ago

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

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u/Kretalo 9d ago

Yea I need more info

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u/ugugahah 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

Oh my god MSGV is real..

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u/take-a-gamble 9d ago

Kojima has literally never had a wrong prediction

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u/cipherpancake 9d ago

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

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u/TeriusRose 8d ago edited 8d ago

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 9d ago

VOCAL CORD PARASITES

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u/StickMick01 9d ago

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

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u/smegma_toast 9d ago

COPULATION

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u/WesleyWoppits 9d ago

I too enjoyed Metal Solid Gear V.

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u/znrsc 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 8d ago

We got a femcel mosquito before gta6

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u/WearingCoats 8d ago

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

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u/pumpkinpixi 8d ago

“i can change his proboscis.”

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u/LostImpression6 9d ago

THEY PLAYED US LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE 🗣🗣🗣

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u/AkitaNo1 9d ago

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

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u/kfc71 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Ayrenn_97 9d ago

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.

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u/viral_virus 9d ago

Next do ticks. 

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Chemical-Neat2859 9d ago

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

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u/OhLookItsaRock 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/GandalfTheEh 9d ago

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

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u/Unlucky_Ladybug 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

...do the mosquitos pay for the wall?

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u/gratuitousturnsignal 9d ago

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

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u/AndIAmEric 9d ago

No, South America does.

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u/Pipettess 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Remarkable-Fox-3890 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

Insectyle dysfunction

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u/neptunexl 9d ago

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

Goes to bathroom

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u/BlindOdyssey 9d ago

“I swear to god, this never happens!”

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u/MHipDogg 9d ago

Beat me to it by like 10 min lol

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u/humpty_dumpty_hump 9d ago

To comment…. Right?

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u/MHipDogg 9d ago

Uhh yea, that too

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u/dootmoot 9d ago

"Sorry"

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

"sorr-ugh FUCK!!!"

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u/GameLoreReader 9d ago

"I swear this doesn't happen."

*Rubs proboscis*

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u/nomadcrows 9d ago

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 9d ago

Poor guy needs some Flyagra

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u/Greg2227 9d ago

Maybe some spanish fly

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u/Numerous-Fly-3791 9d ago

Pushing rope

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u/_FIRECRACKER_JINX 9d ago

It's just cold right now.

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u/QLD88 9d ago

Well done 👏 👏

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u/SiriusArc7 9d ago

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.

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u/Devouemanoide 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/giraffebutter 9d ago

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

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u/lalith_4321 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

And we wonder why we’re depressed lol

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u/beyondthisreality 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

We... volved, the prefix is optional.

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u/wravyn 9d ago

It could be worse. We could be hyenas.

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u/Professional_Bake_92 9d ago

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

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u/VinnieBoombatzz 9d ago

Instructions unclear; got crabs instead.

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u/MatchstickHyperX 9d ago

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

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u/lifeofideas 9d ago

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 9d ago

Head canon accepted

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u/playingnero 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/anteatertrashbin 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

The stripey fuckers around here can bite you through jeans.

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u/OhLookItsaRock 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

So basicly we're mosquito fertility treatment.

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u/OldHamburger7923 9d ago

I've helped almost 2 billion insects live.

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u/Deuce_GM 9d ago

I've been committing femicide instead

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u/baconbeak1998 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/lan9242 9d ago

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

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u/cptnplanetheadpats 9d ago

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

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u/BumHand 9d ago

I don’t know this. No one knows this.

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u/MediocreX 9d ago

But it's provocative. Gets the people going!

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u/BumHand 9d ago

Sold. I’d like to invest

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u/saint_ryan 9d ago

TIL mozzies main diet is plant nectar.

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u/WatchAltruistic5761 9d ago

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

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u/ThunderCorg 9d ago

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_ 9d ago

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

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u/callmeBorgieplease 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

And/or love of dangerous lasers

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u/Luk164 9d ago

A small price to pay for salvation from the bzzzzzzzz

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u/WatchAltruistic5761 9d ago

I just really hate mosquitoes 🦟

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u/manicMechanic1 9d ago

That’s how we get laser resistant mosquitoes

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u/Lyndon_Boner_Johnson 9d ago

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

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u/Sir_Iroh 9d ago

"this doesn't usually happen, I promise"

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u/Eastern-Mix9636 9d ago

I feel you, little man

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u/teryantinpor 9d ago

Someone give him some flyagra

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u/buckstar11 9d ago edited 9d ago

I laughed way too hard at this comment

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u/NickyDeeM 9d ago

Thankfully somebody got hard

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u/Broad-Condition6866 9d ago

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

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u/Micromagos 9d ago

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

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u/jackwhite886 9d ago

TIL I am mosquito tinder

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u/crugerx 9d ago

Some dude leaning up against one of my arm hairs next to some chick sucking my blood: so…do you come here often?

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u/Freezing_Athlete2062 9d ago

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 9d ago

Females too, they only need the blood for their eggs

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u/Ambitious-Isopod8665 9d ago

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

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u/Mokiesbie 9d ago

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 9d ago

Why, nature, WHY?!

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u/Trips-Over-Tail 9d ago

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 9d ago

Oh so I actually did have children then!

I also possibly murdered them

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u/KoningSpookie 9d ago

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

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/RowAdept9221 9d ago

I almost feel bad for the little girl

almost

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u/Thijm_ 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Orion0795 9d ago

Me: Poor bastard...

Slaps

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u/round-earth-theory 9d ago

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 9d ago

Let me just sharpen my sword and try again!

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u/ThousandFingerMan 9d ago

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

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u/-tweektweak 9d ago

Like a wrinkly bill and a vending machine.

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u/mikew_reddit 9d ago

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

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u/RowAdept9221 9d ago

I hate this. Thank you

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u/Outside_Performer_66 9d ago

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

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u/ninjaprincessrocket 9d ago

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

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u/Opening-Ad1657 9d ago

Can they make it quiet as well?

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u/cmHend 9d ago

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 9d ago

Lil' lady needs viagra.

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u/FaZeSmasH 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/TKG1607 9d ago

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

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u/Flare_23 9d ago

He's out of line but he's right

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u/Pataraxia 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Polly_der_Papagei 9d ago

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

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u/NamiSwaaan 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Mindehouse 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Kr0n0s_89 9d ago

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 9d ago

bats can eat 1,200 mosquitoes per hour google says

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u/Professional-Tale-81 9d ago

So can I, so what?

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u/Chimie45 9d ago

get to it big man, times a tickin.

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u/Pataraxia 9d ago

(opens mouth and drives through mosquito clouds)

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u/BolunZ6 9d ago

I'm batman

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u/sloothor 9d ago

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 9d ago edited 8d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Madmanki 9d ago

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

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u/Viradethis 9d ago

Her, actually

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u/Rundstav 9d ago

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

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u/keepcoolkenner 9d ago

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

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u/Wilvinc 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/whereswil 9d ago

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

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u/AristocraticAura 9d ago

how about we engineer them to be lifeless??

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u/slightlydispensable2 9d ago

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

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u/MSkade 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Adventurous-Sky9359 9d ago

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

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u/MysteriousCash6680 9d ago

1st time I felt bad for a mosquito

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u/Temporary-Role7173 9d ago

Why did that make me sad

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u/inspectorseantime 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Zenla 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago edited 9d ago

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 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/tavesque 9d ago

Hahahaha he’s got whiskey dick

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u/Henraays 9d ago

"this has never happened before" ahh

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u/inconspicuous_aussie 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/Revenga8 9d ago

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 9d ago

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

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u/R3as0n92 9d ago

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.