The Mosquito Effect

I recently read Time magazine’s ‘The 50 Best Inventions of 2010’. In at no 45 was ‘The Malaria-Proof Mosquito’. This Mosquito has been genetically engineered to be immune to the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasite. Since malaria causes over 1 million deaths a year this little critter is certainly quite the ‘invention’.

The plan, it seems, is to take this already genetically engineered mosquito and make it harder, better, faster, stronger - than your standard mosquito. This beefed up super-bug will then be released into the wild causing a survival-of-the-fittest type battle whereby it will cane the standard mosquito’s pathetic backside. And voila – a malaria-free world.

Considering there are over 250 million cases of malaria reported every year this seems an innovative solution to one of the developing world’s biggest problems. (And the developed world will never be forced to watch Geri Halliwell filling in for Cheryl Cole ever again.)

Instead of developing new treatments and working out the logistics and cost of distributing it to 250 million people per annum, scientists have headed straight to the root of the problem. And all they have to do is replace an entire species.

Now it will surprise no one that I am not a scientist. I graduated in Media Studies, which amazingly didn’t offer a course on ‘small invertebrate and their role in delicate ecosystems’. However, am I the only one that has spotted a hole in this elaborate plan?

We Homo Sapiens have a history of underestimating the delicate balance of ecosystems. For example, Cane Toads were introduced in Australia as a form of pest control and have since gone on to become the biggest pest of all – their poisonous bodies causing numerous snakes and lizards to enter the endangered species list. And by now everyone’s heard about Britain’s disappearing bee dilemma.

So my question is: what effect will these super-mosquitoes have on their various ecosystems? For all we know the Plasmodium parasite is vital in the germination of the banana plant, without which bats would struggle for food, causing populations to plummet and causing the world’s rodent population to soar. Not only does this give me the creeps but it would also go on to cause serious problems of its own. It’s the butterfly effect. Or the mosquito effect, if you will.

Of all the examples I hear of humans playing God, I actually find this one the most shocking. Designer babies, stem-cell research, sheep-cloning, that’s nothing compared to replacing an entire species with its beefed-up cousin. And I think it’s important to stress that I have no moral objection to anyone playing ‘God’ (as my placing the word ‘God’ in quotation marks probably implies.) In fact, I think fucking with nature can have untold benefits; genetically modified corn can feed up to four times as many people per acre than the standard variety and is going to be a huge factor in combating world poverty.  

So why do the mosquitoes bug me? Logically I think it’s an incredible idea. Ingenious, actually. This is a 21^st century solution to an age-old problem. But I can’t help but feel it’s not right. Until we’ve had time to seriously consider the microscopic ramifications of such a manoeuvre maybe we should hold out on effectively unravelling a mosquito genocide. Nature won’t always be able to compensate for our insistent meddling. And once the bugs are gone – they’re gone.

Now like I say, I am not a scientist. And I’m sure the scientists have considered this. I’m almost 97% sure this isn’t the end of the world. But since that’s not 100, I thought it was worth a cheeky mention.

Check out the link for yourselves:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030618_2029819,00.html