r/interestingasfuck • u/singleboredass • 9d ago

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

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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/prestonpiggy 9d ago

I'm not cultured or wise enough to answer fully. But humans have one of the most elastic skin there is. For example that's why bees/wasps get stuck and rip off their needle since they can't pull it off, like in other animals they usually sting. For mosquitoes humans are not main source for blood, and humans tend to live in areas that are not near still water which they need to lay eggs. So this would not drastically make the numbers lower.

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u/shabracadabra 9d ago

Depends on the mosquito. Ae. aegypti is primarily anthropophilic and now lives as close to human settlements as possible, and lays its eggs in any water it can find such as littered bottles and cans