Has anyone else heard of what California is doing to the mosquito infestation?

https://www.psu.edu/news/eberly-college-science/story/how-does-virus-hijack-insect-sperm-control-disease-vectors-and-pests/

It basically explains that they have started a new bio-ethical? way to stop pest populations from producing new generations. SIT, Sterile Insect Technique, is a bacteria Wolbachia and a virus that carries Wolbachia, that are put into male mosquitos. It enters their DNA and activates "genes — cifA and cifB — allow the bacteria to remarkably manipulate sperm and quickly spread through an insect population for their own good.” These sperm will enter the female and rendered as lethal to the egg, "succumbing [the egg] to death". The mosquito's sperm undergo a shape change from  canoe-like to a spear-like causing it to rendered lethal and inviable.
“'This shape change is incredibly important to the success of sperm, and any interference can impact the sperm’s ability to travel in the female reproductive tract and successfully fertilize the egg,' said Rupinder Kaur, assistant research professor of biology and entomology at Penn State and the other leader of the research team. 'The transition is highly conserved in almost everything from insects to humans.

Defects in this process can also cause male sterility in humans.'”

They have just started the process in the Sunland - Tujuguna areas of the Greater Los Angeles County Oct 12, 2023. And on May 2, 2024 until October 2024 they have been releasing SIT male mosquitos in the district. (Does that mean the Sunland - Tujuguna area, or all of the Greater Los Angeles County?)

https://www.glamosquito.org/pilot-program-launch-in-localized-areas-of-sunland-tujunga

So if you live there, I really do suggest staying away from the mosquitos, putting on mosquito repellent (DEET), and/or moving out of the area.

There's a bacteria which can effectively sterilise mosquitos and is already very common among insect populations: "Wolbachia is the most widespread bacteria in animals and lives symbiotically within the reproductive tissues of about 50% of insect species" which is being used in some sterilisation programs: "This system is being used in several ongoing pilot studies across the world to control insect pests and the harmful viral diseases they carry. For example, to control a population of agricultural or human pests that do not have the bacteria, scientists release males with Wolbachia in order to crash the population."

But here: Wolbachia’s prophage WO genes code for proteins that interfere with normal development of sperm cells. These proteins impact a critical transformation during sperm development, when the sperm’s genome is repackaged and the sperm changes from a canoe-shape into a more refined needle-like shape. “This shape change is incredibly important to the success of sperm, and any interference can impact the sperm’s ability to travel in the female reproductive tract and successfully fertilize the egg,” said Rupinder Kaur, assistant research professor of biology and entomology at Penn State and the other leader of the research team. “The transition is highly conserved in almost everything from insects to humans. Defects in this process can also cause male sterility in humans.”

Is them simply explaining how the process works and such process would cause sterility in humans too, not that the bacteria would cause it but that if such a process were to happen in humans, the sperm would be rendered ineffective. Humans have a vastly different immune system to insects and Wolbachia can not infect humans. Wolbachia can only infect invertebrate organisms (that is, animals without a backbone), therefore, there is no risk that humans will become infected with the bacteria, and risks to humans and the environment associated with releasing Wolbachia‐carrying mosquitoes are believed to be minor.

• Wolbachia CANNOT be transferred through a mosquito bite
• Wolbachia CANNOT survive outside insects

NEA | Wolbachia is Safe and Natural

So Wolbachia is completely harmless to humans.

Onto California's process, they aren't using Wolbachia, they're sterilising the mosquitos using radiation. Also male mosquitoes don't bite.

So nobody needs to leave California, Lol. I also don't imagine people intentionally go up to mosquitos to begin with and people should use mosquito repellent in high mosquito density areas regardless just because mosquitos are annoying, disgusting little things that carry disease, which is probably what a lot of people do anyway, but when it comes to Wolbachia and California's process, completely harmless.

Stefanik calls for wiping Hamas ‘off the face of the Earth’ and touts Trump policies in speech to Israeli Knesset

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/19/politics/stefanik-israel-speech-biden-trump/index.html

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik delivered remarks at the Israeli Knesset Sunday, saying victory for Israel in the war against Hamas starts with “wiping” those responsible for the October 7 terrorist attacks “off the face of the Earth” and calling for a return to former President Donald Trump’s policies.

“Total victory starts, but only starts, with wiping those responsible for October 7 off the face of the Earth. There can be no retrievable dignity for Hamas and its backers,” she said in her speech in which she called herself a “leading proponent and partner” to Trump and sharply criticized the Biden administration.

.....

“When the enemy is inside the gates of the United Nations, America must be the one to call it by its name and destroy it. President Trump understood that,” Stefanik said.

“But you know as well as I that the enemy is inside more than just the gates of the United Nations. It is also in powerful Western institutions in my country and beyond, where the virus, the vile virus of antisemitism is spreading. This is why total victory means not just physical self-defense but ideological self-defense,” added Stefanik, who claimed that pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses who are calling for a ceasefire in the conflict are “cosplaying Hamas.”

In a rare instance of a member of Congress publicly criticizing the American president to a foreign government, Stefanik went after Biden, saying there is “no excuse” for his administration blocking military aid to Israel.

“I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel — aid that was duly passed by the Congress,” Stefanik said.

Using sterility as pest control dates back to the 1930s, using RNA techniques is obviously much newer

This describes the process

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325135/


Of course you only need some idiot to experiment on that with human DNA then let it escape the lab to create "Children of Men". Gain-of-function research is thought to be responsible for Covid pandemic...

And sure big Pharma will develop the sterilization pill for men one day, already working on it.

"Eppin is a protein found in sperm. A vaccine to target this protein has been successful in lessening sperm counts. Other potentials for a birth control vaccine are GnRH and FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone).

The birth control vaccine is not reversible in some men. This vaccine also needs frequent booster doses and is not fully dependable."

But it must be something to take weekly/monthly to make money, so hopefully they don't research permanent sterility. However There are always religious nutters that might.

AI, DNA manipulation, Global warming, makes WW3 seem the least of future worries.

On Ukraine: "I cannot support billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars of non-lethal aid while Joe Biden continues his failure to address his crisis at our southern border.”

On Israel: “Israel is currently fighting for her right to exist and at a time when our greatest ally needs us the most, Joe Biden and Secretary Blinken are choosing to purposefully undermine Israel to appease the pro-Hamas faction of the Democratic Party,”

Stefanik Votes No On Ukraine Aid | News, Sports, Jobs - Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Dumbass.

Ukraine has all sorts of rules and restrictions enforced on it which it follows, Israel meanwhile can do whatever the fuck it wants, it is extremely careless, it does not care who it has to kill, what it has to destroy, in its reckless campaign, it continues to escalate the situation, quite frankly all Israeli offensive aid should instead be diverted to Ukraine, a country which is actually fighting for its right to exist, Israel though? It's fighting against Hamas, a tiny force and already a powerful country on its own without America and whenever Israel is attacked by other countries it has the combined might of America, UK, France rushing to its defence, a luxury which Ukraine does not have.

I hope Israeli offensive aid continues to be blocked, I'm fine with them receiving defensive aid though.

I did see the process on how it’s done, thanks for putting it on. I just wanted to post a quick snippet of it and let y’all do your own research. But good to know it’s harmless (as long as there are no defects).

I just think people should be aware since population control is a long term way to stop war/defeat your enemies.

Keep it up :)

This isn't about human population control.

In the 70s, they used to spray known chemicals in neighborhoods to control mosquitoes that were known to be toxic to humans. 

We're up soon, I hope I can have a double celebration this year, seeing them useless fuck Tories destroyed in July and then Democrats winning again in November.

Nikki Haley says she'll vote for Donald Trump in 2024 presidential race (usatoday.com)

Ughhh. Makes me a little more nervous for Biden.

What a fucking idiot, falls in line just like the rest of them, no backbone or morals.

“I put my priorities on a president who's going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account who would secure the border,”

Like abandoning Ukraine, your ally or saying Russia can "do whatever it wants" to Europe, your ally.

Oh wait, I forgot, the only ally America has in the entire world is apparently Israel.

Also, the Republicans blocked the border bill.

Republicans are the most spineless political party in the west.

Why are you surprised? At heart, Haley is a simpering sycophant. She has no principles. That much was evident during her tenure as governor of South Carolina. She was just as spineless then. She only said those things because she wanted to pursue a hail-mary chance at being president. Hell, she probably wanted to show Trump her poll numbers and suggest to him that she would be his best bet as a running mate. When it comes right down to it, they'll all fall on their faces in a submissive pose if Trump so much as looks at them.