An interesting rumor is floating around the streets of Dar Es Salaam this week. Apparently, if one is a believer, 'the government' has released millions of mosquitoes to outcompete, outbreed, or out-whatever the more dangerous malaria-carrying species. Supposedly it all began at a hospital and spread from there. Perhaps the mosquito outbreak is the result of recent rains, or other ecological factors, but ingenious government plans are a far more interesting topic of conversation.
Though breeding mosquitoes to outcompete dangerous species is an intriguing idea, it doesn't quite compare to the innovative method heralded in The Economist last year--a laser defense system that rings villages and literally zaps mosquitoes out of the air.
Hi Matt, am enjoying your blogs. Was at a conference last year where one of the speakers was the CEO of the company that developed that mosquito laser. He said their challenge (successful) was to use an off-the-shelf CD laser in the device. Also claimed the radar coupled with the laser was sensitive enough to distinguish species of mosquito, whether male or female, whether carrying eggs. The speaker was, he said, an ex-hacker turned security developer.
ReplyDelete-Karl