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Science & Technology
Federal government plans to air-drop sterile flies over Texas to fight flesh-eating maggots
2025-07-03

[FOX] The federal government is planning to breed millions of flies and dump them over Mexico and Texas via airplanes in an effort to combat a flesh-eating maggot.

The pest being targeted is the flesh-eating larva of the New World Screwworm (NWS) fly. The Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies. The flies will be sterilized with radiation before they are released.

They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized and don't hatch. There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out.
Posted by:Skidmark

#7  globe/hyperlink symbol

I envision a world in chains.
Posted by: Skidmark   2025-07-03 23:55  

#6  For those who are free spirits: I copy the link first, then do the rest of the steps. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife   2025-07-03 22:45  

#5  1) Title your link (doesn't have to match the hyperlink)
2) Highlight those link words
3) copy the hyperlink in a separate tab
4) Hit Fred's globe/hyperlink symbol in the Bold/Italics/etc. toolbar
5) Paste your hyperlink over the "https:" prompt
Voila!
Posted by: Frank G   2025-07-03 19:10  

#4  https://www.science.org/content/article/study-dna-spread-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-prompts-backlash

one day ill figure out how to make cool hyperlinks like Skid

Study on DNA spread by genetically modified mosquitoes prompts backlash
Posted by: jefe101   2025-07-03 15:50  

#3  Oxitec
https://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/DBMbrief_fin.pdf

Oxitec’s genetically modified moths: summary of concerns

And this is from 2015. by 2019 they had evidence that genetic exchange was occuring in both the GM orgnaism and the host.
Posted by: jefe101   2025-07-03 15:48  

#2  I would question the method of development given the GM mosquito craze. Same way MRNA vaccine is it really a traditional vaccine.
Posted by: Jefe101   2025-07-03 14:40  

#1  as article notes, the sterile fly strategy has been used before

it worked to halt the spread but didn't eliminate the species
Posted by: Lord Garth   2025-07-03 10:27  

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