
Rocket Scientists Shoot Down Mosquitoes With Lasers - kirubakaran
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123680870885500701.html
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noonespecial
_Its rebirth as a bug killer came thanks to Nathan Myhrvold, a former
Microsoft Corp. executive who now runs Intellectual Ventures LLC., a company
that collects patents and funds inventions._

It does a lot more of the first than the second. I wish they'd just leave it
alone as the results will probably be a non-practical, gee-wiz laser gizmo
that makes no sense to deploy anywhere and a raft of vague patents that freeze
innovation in the field preventing the inventions that might actually help.

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lutorm
As a Swede, I'd be as excited as anyone to get rid of mosquitoes. That said, I
doubt they would make a significant dent in the mosquito population but it
seems like another example of a technological "fix" without considering the
wider effects: Which species depend on mosquitoes as food, and what will
happen when they can't eat anymore?

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robotrout
Oh my, yes. Then we would truly have a silent spring, wouldn't we? Perhaps if
we wrote a book of some sort, that would stir up people to save the
mosquitoes.

Probably we can say the laser causes egg shell thickness depletion, Nobody who
knows enough statistics to laugh at us will be heard, if we create enough
public outcry.

I don't share your concern that this will cause an ecological problem. I do
share your concern that it's a little silly, if you truly want to have an
effect on mosquito populations in mosquito heavy areas.

If only there were a substance that's so safe, you can eat it by the gallon,
that actually took care of the mosquito problem without needing to have sharks
with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads, to do it. Surely if such a
substance existed, we wouldn't let millions die from malaria, while we played
with lasers. This is impressive, technologically, but it's like ... I don't
know, 'using a laser to kill a mosquito', I guess.

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kalvin
I wish I could better inform the six people who upmodded you, because you've
clearly been lost to the conspiracy theorists.

Read some facts first: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ddt>

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ciscoriordan
If it was used on a massive scale to fight malaria, the side effects might be
pretty extreme.

But if it's used on a small scale, to keep people's backyards mosquito free,
this could be really awesome.

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patio11
I think this is the best example I have _ever_ seen of "Black people have to
die so that white people can feel comfortable".

Seriously. Look at what you're saying. Too dangerous to protect African
children from wasting death, but perfectly safe to prevent casual nuisance at
your next barbecue? (Psst: what is the size of the average American backyard
relative to the average African dwelling?)

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ciscoriordan
Actually, look at what you're saying. When did I mention anything about race?
I am saying that I don't think this would work on a massive scale because it
would destabilize ecosystems, but when used in smaller areas that wouldn't be
a risk.

This isn't 4chan.

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patio11
_When did I mention anything about race?_

When you mentioned malaria. Its a disease that white people don't get, largely
because we eliminated it in our countries prior to getting religion on that
environmentalism thing. After that, we collectively decided that while our
kids were worth cracking a few eggs to make an omlette, African kids were not.

Take a look at this graph here, particularly the one in the top left corner:

[http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/images/graphs/us_malaria_old_map....](http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/images/graphs/us_malaria_old_map.gif)

That shaded land mass, 60% of the continental US? That used to be Malaria
Country. In 2009, there isn't a spec of the US that is Malaria Country. The
reason: we bombed the shit out of the mosquitoes, pure and simple, and we kept
doing it until malaria wasn't a problem anymore. If there was a malaria
flareup in a US suburb this year, we would do a bit of obligatory handwriting
and then promptly bomb the shit out of it.

(You think we'd make white people put up with expensive, ineffective
countermeasures like treated crib nets? I'd like to hear that planning
meeting: "Well, we've run the numbers, and have decided that by spending a few
million on bed nets, crib nets, and outdoor abatement programs, only about
five of your kids, plus or minus three or so, will die in the next year due to
malaria in our township. Remember to be really conscientious about putting up
your nets -- not that they're going to save everyone, because they can't, but
remembering the nets every night gives your child the maximum chance of
survival until the school year starts. Why don't we just bomb the shit out of
the bugs, you ask? Oh, well, we considered doing that but are concerned the
local birdwatchers will be upset.")

Over a million African children died last year of malaria. Five hundred
million people caught the disease. But when it is Africans dying, and not us,
then we get all sorts of picky about how much ecological damage is being done.

(Incidentally, not much. But given the choice between 1 million Africans a
year and Very Bad Environmental Things that presumably happened in the US
between 1880 and 1950 when we were spraying DDT like it was going out of
style, I think we have a moral imperative to choose Very Bad Environmental
Things.)

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gojomo
Wow, I've wanted to see this for many years. (I suspect many people who
followed the 'Strategic Defense'/'Star Wars' programs, and suffered from
flying insects, had the same thought.)

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keltecp11
I am afraid that this might have more of a negative result oppose to a
positive one. Mosquitoes are part of the food chain...

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katz
Yup - but humans changed its habitat. There are now more pools of still water
(damns, etc...) because of human intervention than before.

