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Je_suis_un_revolutionnaire
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
I love lasers and all but isn't it a bit of an overkill?

When they built the panama canal they had the same problem so they just put lime into any large lakes to kill the larvae and destroyed the vegetation where the mosquitoes where hiding.

After so many years it's still the only place in latin america where there are no mosquitoes at all!
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@Je_suis_un_revolutionnaire: Sorry, my BS-o-meter spiked really hard on that last line.
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CrashingOut
03/14/09

@bpapa9013: really? that pegged my retard meter too, especially since he suggested an extremely environmentally-unfriendly solution: kill everything with chemicals, let the environment sort it out.
Did this guy get us to use DDT too?!
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Je_suis_un_revolutionnaire
03/14/09

@CrashingOut:

Hey cos zapping things with lasers is an eco-friendly solution...

@bpapa9013:

I read the stuff while reading about John Frank Stevens a while back.

There is a short note about panama canal building in wiki... look at "later efforts"

[en.wikipedia.org]

Oh yeah and DDT doesn't work on Mosquitoes anymore... They are now immune. Not that I would use it of course.
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GitEmSteveDave_Isn'tFreshPerked
03/14/09

@Je_suis_un_revolutionnaire: He's not doubting in the earlY 1900's, that they eliminated mosquitoes. But to say that the panama canal is the only place where there are "NO" mosquitoes, is a little far fetched. I can believe that there are a reduced amount due to possible wind conditions as well as the water being in constant motion and also large lakes w/ample wildlife to eat larve, but not the almost lack of.

And you're right about them lasers. Darn light is very eco-unfriendly. :)
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xanderbeedle
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
Genetically engineer better mosquitos that can't transmit malaria... They wipe out the old ones + malaria, then the ecosystem stays relatively normal.
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zweihander
03/14/09

@xanderbeedle: no way.. by genetically engineering a mosquito that doesn't transmit malaria, that leaves it open to transmit something worse. or better yet.. be MORE annoying. one thing i Do know is: when you take something out of the food chain it will be replaced.. adjusting the food chain all the way up to the top. nothing goood can come if this. nothing.
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@xanderbeedle: Actually scientists have been working on just that for decades.

IIRC they have been struggling for funding basically since the inception of the research so they haven't gotten very far, so far as I last heard anyway.
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GitEmSteveDave_Isn'tFreshPerked
03/14/09

@zweihander: The best thing I have heard is breeding a strain that has a shorter lifespan than the incubation period of a disease. So you wouldn't eliminate them, but they couldn't transmit disease as easily.
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Dylorian
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
Hope they don't frak up the food chain. Mosquitoes are a pain in the arse, but they feed A LOT of animals.
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@Dylorian: most of the ecological consumption of mosquitoes takes place very close to where they hatch (standing water, wetlands, lakes, etc.). So as long as you aren't trying to eradicate them from that sort of environment you shouldn't be hindering the food chain too much.
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OMG! Chariot!
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
This is a really off-topic question, but where has the settings page gone? I believed there was a button called settings somewhere i just cant find it!

When you click "profile" in the right upper corner you just see the profile like anyone else would have seen it, no settings etc.
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GitEmSteveDave_Isn'tFreshPerked
03/14/09

@Chariot: Make sure your address bar doesn't start w/ i.gizmodo.com. If it does, erase the "i." part, and press go. It should be there.
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frigg
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
So if they only eradicate the females, will that mean that the male population will learn how to cook, sew, and spread malaria all by themselves?

I think I saw something to that effect in Jurassic Park.
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Kanyamagufa
03/15/09

@frigg:

"You're implying that a group composed entirely of females will...breed?"
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frigg
03/15/09

@Kanyamagufa: No, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way.
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BeautifulAgony
03/15/09

@frigg: That was pure gold. You've already got a star, and I've already "hearted" you.... I'm not sure what more I can do or say!
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Walljasper
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
...and it shall be called..."The Bug Zapper".
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@Walljasper: No "Star Wars"!!!
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Edgars Nemše
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
Cool shit... I hate mosquitoes! Not because of malaria(cause there ain't one where I live) but because they are SOOO annoying!!! Especially if they start to fly around your head while you try to sleep! That sound... *shivers*
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@Edgars Nemše: Shit, I want one of these and malaria isn't a problem where I live either.

I know there are mosquito "traps" that use a small propane fire to attract mosquitos (the fire mimicks the body heat and CO2 emissions of a med/lg mammal) if they paired this with that propane lure you could literally wipe out the entire breeding population within an acre or so of the trap...
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Elliot Carvalho
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
awesome, and i concur about the headline bit!

somehow, i suspect the impact on frogs, snakes, mammals and the rest of the food chain arent getting the full consideration they should, but that shouldnt get in the way of shooting mosquitoes with lasers, right?
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@Elliot Carvalho: I think that if they can make the targeting system confirm the size of the target with any accuracy (and certianty) then that should not be too much of a problem (except for other very small flying insects). And it sounds like the targeting system is pretty smart if it can determine the sex of the mosquito...
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pettiblay
03/14/09

In reply to Badass Scientists Prepare Anti-Mosquito Laser
That kid's face just evoked an urgent need to hit something really really hard.
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IN THE FACE!
03/14/09

@pettiblay: He looks like one of the younger O'Doyles...
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