r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 23h ago

Biotechnology Burkina Faso says no to Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitoes

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/burkina-faso-says-no-to-bill-gates-plan-of-creating-modified-species-of-mosquitoes/xyk7xm8
9.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

53

u/C4ndlejack 22h ago

You don’t need genetic modification to eliminate malaria/mosquitoes

Yeah you can just ask them politely to leave. What the fuck kind of alternatives do you think there are that work well? If there were any, malaria wouldn't be this much of a an issue worldwide. 

8

u/googleduck 5h ago

These people have no actual solutions, their greatest joy in life is to be anti-West on every issue. No matter how many African corpses they leave behind it doesn't matter, as long as the evil "imperialist" west doesn't get a a "win".

-3

u/BeardedDragon1917 21h ago

Other countries have eliminated mosquitoes, it can be done by destroying their breeding grounds and using pesticides when necessary. These genetically modified mosquitoes were never meant to be used in isolation, as a magic bullet to eliminate malaria in one fell swoop. They are one tool, probably a very useful tool, but just one tool in a nation’s tool kit to deal with pests and insect-borne disease. It’s not like they object to the mosquitoes themselves, but they don’t want to start relying on a solution whose supply the West can then threaten to cut off.

5

u/suckmysprucelog 14h ago

so thats a bit like saying a roofer don't want to use nails cause the hardware store could stop selling to them and would rather hope the slates stay on.

That's such a bullshit reason, also 'The West' cutting off humanitarian aid isn't really that likely, there have been very few cases of that actually happening.

-2

u/Kholtien 7h ago

If you use the right roofing techniques, you don’t need nails at all

1

u/suckmysprucelog 5h ago

What technique would you use to slate a roof without nails? Or how would you secure the battens for roof tiles? (most common roof types where I am from) All of that gets nailed, and has been geeting nailed for hundreds of years.

1

u/Kholtien 4h ago

Yeah, obviously you would use a different technique than one that requires nails if you were going to roof a house without nails.

There are tons of ways to roof without nails now. Peel and stick membranes, liquid coatings you just spray on, metal roofing with clips, even magnetic systems. TPO membrane just adheres to the roof deck. Way less leaks since no nail holes. Standing seam metal is super popular too, panels just snap together.

Technology has come a long way from just hammering shingles down

2

u/suckmysprucelog 1h ago

Well I know most of these techniques, and at least standing seam metal and most metal clipping roofs still use nails, but honestly I was just trying to make a simple analogy, not get into a debate about roofing.

1

u/Kholtien 22m ago

The analogy just shows that there are other ways. Honestly, it’s probably a mistake to turn down the GM mozzies, but I’m hoping for them. I really hope they can get things done without too much interference. I’d love the future if we can get a united African union.