Monday, January 26, 2015

GMO Mosquitoes..Fear? Or Science Chauvanism?

http://rt.com/usa/226203-florida-mosquitoes-gmo-insects/

I thought it was a great article to communicate the contentious apprehension we have with "GMO". Yes genetically modified organism. It is true that science currently has the power to directly access genetic material DNA to change something about an organism. We also have been influencing and modifying genes for sometime albeit less directly. Think about your pet for example. Your domestic dog or car is the result of passive genetic alteration through intentional breeding. The desired body size, coat texture or coat color, and temperament  are results of intentionally mixing genes to get the dog of your choice. 

Enter in the convo of GMO foods as a scientist I understand the double edged sword of resolving threats to crop quantity/quantity (such as pests or poor soil quality because the environment sucks) while not fully knowing the potential threats it may cause in human health or economic sector. 

Nonetheless GMO food wouldn't be needed if our natural resources were being respected and we did not live in a capitalistic global economy. (Ok stick with me I'm getting to the bugs )

People's fear of GMO at times is astonishing. In 2013 the FDA approved the first ever GMO flu vaccine. I didn't hear too many people complaining about this advancement nor did I hear any uproar about it in 2014 as we entered flu season. It's almost as if it was no big deal. 

I see this as what I call "science chauvinism". I've booked (face booked) about #FWP first world problems. It isn't until we see the direct and immediate removal of a threat to our own livelihoods that we will trust the science and scientists. The further removed we are from the system or the reality of the systems impact on other humans and their local economies the more biased and trustless we become. We have the privilege of thinking 10-20 steps ahead of science because science has saved our lives and environment. While the status of health and poverty are not absent from first world nations we are way beyond worrying about our children dying from the flu or measles. 

Now the bugs....
1. Only females feed on human blood and therefore are the target for this strategy 
2. The DNA modified in the lab population targets the larvae of the insect not allowing it to mature 
3. If the larvae of this Mosquito that carries the disease can not live they can not fly they can not bite
4. Non biting males will be released to mate with females 
5. An infected person can come from somewhere else without knowledge...a mosquito that is already here in the states can bite them and transmit it to another person 

6. I believe people want certainty about what happens if this insects DNA interacts with humans. I say to that "science never has 100% certainty I wasn't certain I was going to be in the population of women with complications from an epidural but I was; you are given the risks with all your meds but you take them. We have science that wouldn't need to exist if climate change and invasive species wasn't an issue but we do. When you think about GMO's in the future or any science for that fact take a step back and ask yourself are you being a science chauvinist because you'll trust it if your life were immediately threatened. I support science literacy but I support human exploration of solutions. The sooner we come to grips with the trade offs our IMPERFECT science possess the better. We are scientists not psychics."

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