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> To address this challenge, Verily, an affiliate of Alphabet Inc, developed a mosquito rearing and sex sorting and release technology as part of its global Deb

• cbhl 8y ago
  Verily has also been releasing these sterile mosquitoes in Fresno since 2016: https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/18/heres-the-real-buzz-google-releases-20-million-mosquitos-in-fresno/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/18/heres-the-real-buzz-g... https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debug-fresno-our-first-us-field-study.html https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debug-fresno-our-first-us-fi...
  • rurban 8y ago
    The Fresno result was a 68% reduction, also promising. https://blog.verily.com/2017/11/wrapping-up-debug-fresno-2017.html https://blog.verily.com/2017/11/wrapping-up-debug-fresno-201... Better than the Chinese results on a more massive scale in Guangshou with about 50% reduction. I'd also like to see the Brazil and Vietnam results. https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/ https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/ Wonder why Australia had 12% better results? The sheer size of the experiment there? Australia was much bigger than Fresno, with only 300 acres there.
• twelvechairs 8y ago
  If only Australia's CSIRO still had enough funding to do this kind of work itself rather than 'partner with' (i.e. contribute public funding towards the private investment goals of) for-profit companies. Amongst CSIRO's earlier inventions are 1960s insect repelent 'Aerogard', polymer banknotes and major components of Wi-Fi as we know it.
  • pm90 8y ago
    I don't see what the problem is if the for-profit companies goals align with theirs.
    • NamTaf 8y ago
      It's more a reflection on the fact that our governments have successively cut CSIRO's funding again and again despite their demonstrated return on investment and notable achievements.
      • enneff 8y ago
        Indeed. The most recent governments' hostility toward scientific research has been hugely damaging to the research community in Australia. The CSIRO were once an amazing asset to the world, now with their funding slashed dramatically there are many brilliant teams without the resources to develop their ideas. So disappointing and frustrating to watch. :-(
        • BigJono 8y ago
          They are and always have been a bunch of anti-intellectual religious zealots. I'm not sure what anyone was expecting. There's still too many people drinking the kool-aid to say it now, but I'd be very surprised if by 2050, Tony Abbott isn't considered the worst PM in Australian history.
          • electricwater 8y ago
            I think Tony Abbott moved to the Republic of Gilead.
          • hydrox24 8y ago
            > "anti-intellectual religious zealots" This is a ridiculous thing to say. Curtin, Hawke, and Gillard all left the faiths they were raised in, and the first two Prime Ministers were Spiritualist (no dogma, not really zealots) and Unitarian (no supernatural belief) respectively. Australia is not a country in which accusations of zealotry can be fairly levelled. If you'll allow me to ignore the non-sequiter about Abbott, it's worth pointing out that while he did cut CSIRO funding, as much to my disappointment as it was to yours, it wasn't really unprecedented, with funding experiencing lows that were similar under Hawke and Howard.[0] We ought to fund public research better in this country. We can afford it. But we don't have to use silly name-calling to get there. [0]: https://theconversation.com/infographic-how-much-does-australia-spend-on-science-and-research-61094 https://theconversation.com/infographic-how-much-does-austra...
• testaccount7 8y ago
  Should Verily be taking on debugging the world? 2nd/3rd order effects