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It's as easy as those two steps, but in most of Africa those two steps are not easy. Read the article: for the people in Africa affected by the worm the disease

It's as easy as those two steps, but in most of Africa those two steps are not easy. Read the article: for the people in Africa affected by the worm the disease is so debilitating they are unable to grow food or continue their education. This parasite ruins lives. >Why we sould not run to extinct entire species? We don't know where hides the next cure for cancer, This is like trying to argue against abortion because any given baby could be the next Einstein. Sure, but any given baby could also be the next Hitler... and both statements aren't even wrong (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_even_wrong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_even_wrong). Whatever ill effects of the guinea worm's extinction can be overcome. If they can't, we were all probably going to die anyway.

pvaldes 7y ago
I'm reasonably sure that we will not find a tiny hitler inside the packets of 6 guinea worms, but if is really there, we could choose just not follow it The "not even wrong" argument is incorrectly applied here. We are not talking of filosophy, this is biology so the idea that parasites can be useful is perfectly falsifiable. We can just do more research and find if something in this animal is useful (nothing prevent us to do this because, well... is not extinct). We have many examples of parasites doing useful things before and the "99%" of species are still really poorly known, so that wouldn't be an impossible scenery. Here is another humble and useless roundworm that fortunately nobody decided to extinct before 1960's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans From living in mudville streets to became a space survivor and genetic rockstar. Not bad http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2992123.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2992123.stm
- snagglegaggle 7y ago
  Look: Your ideas are misguided and dangerous. Read the article to see the effects of the guinea worm. The parasite ruins lives. The "not even wrong" was applied appropriately as the statement "there is some good to be had from keeping the guinea worm" is potentially true but practically unverifiable and is part of an argument whose goalposts can be moved easily and indefinitely, and are already so far away as to be unassailable. There is some value to biodiversity and its study and there are likely parasites that are beneath our radar but that this specific one can be isolated and studied and has recorded negative effects on humanity is enough to destroy it. >I'm reasonably sure that we will not find a tiny hitler inside the packets of 6 guinea worms, but if is really there, we could choose just not follow it Maybe studying the DNA of the guinea worm leads researchers to a breakthrough in targeting retroviruses at vulnerable human subpopulations and genocide is committed because we didn't exterminate it! See? You don't know that won't happen!
  - pvaldes 7y ago
    > Your ideas are misguided and dangerous. Torches and pitchforks at this hour of the nigth? ok I'll start running. Well... Or maybe yours are wrong. At least you grant that biodiversity has "some" value. If we start wipping species just by caprice, there will be easier to extinguish the next. Is a slippery slope, and we will shoot ourselves in the face at some point with some serious and totally unexpected cascade of consequences. It has happened before. It happens all the time. > the parasite ruins lives For a year or less. Is a nuissance, for sure, but people can fully recover from it to enjoy the rest of their lives. Can be easily avoided with just a bucket and a piece of cloth and there is not any reason to let the people with the parasite walk for the water when a bucket is enough to alleviate their feet. Poliomyelitis ruin lifes, this... hem, not normally.
    - snagglegaggle 7y ago
      Alright, we've gone full circle. You're just repeating how super simple it is to avoid infection (it's not, otherwise no one would have guinea worm and it'd already be extinct!) and minimizing the impact this has on people's lives without actually addressing anything I've brought up.
      - pvaldes 7y ago
        Wouldn't be my intention to minimize the impact it has currently over the lifes of 30 people each year in the entire planet, but you must admit that among 7700000000 humans (0.0000000039 % of humanity affected by Guinea worm) is not a high number. With zero people dead by this animal in the last years, does not feel like its extinction would be an urgent problem to adress. If we wipe it, what would prevent somebody tomorrow to ask for the extinction of the much more dangerous sharks?, or tigers, polar bears, scary spiders, and dogs of course (dogs kill lots of people each year, maybe we should wipe them), or pretty much anything alive that could cause allergies to some people, or that could be seen by somebody as disgusting or ugly. Economic resources are limited and we have worse problems that are not being adressed.

pvaldes 7y ago

I'm reasonably sure that we will not find a tiny hitler inside the packets of 6 guinea worms, but if is really there, we could choose just not follow it The "not even wrong" argument is incorrectly applied here. We are not talking of filosophy, this is biology so the idea that parasites can be useful is perfectly falsifiable. We can just do more research and find if something in this animal is useful (nothing prevent us to do this because, well... is not extinct). We have many examples of parasites doing useful things before and the "99%" of species are still really poorly known, so that wouldn't be an impossible scenery. Here is another humble and useless roundworm that fortunately nobody decided to extinct before 1960's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans From living in mudville streets to became a space survivor and genetic rockstar. Not bad http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2992123.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2992123.stm

snagglegaggle 7y ago
Look: Your ideas are misguided and dangerous. Read the article to see the effects of the guinea worm. The parasite ruins lives. The "not even wrong" was applied appropriately as the statement "there is some good to be had from keeping the guinea worm" is potentially true but practically unverifiable and is part of an argument whose goalposts can be moved easily and indefinitely, and are already so far away as to be unassailable. There is some value to biodiversity and its study and there are likely parasites that are beneath our radar but that this specific one can be isolated and studied and has recorded negative effects on humanity is enough to destroy it. >I'm reasonably sure that we will not find a tiny hitler inside the packets of 6 guinea worms, but if is really there, we could choose just not follow it Maybe studying the DNA of the guinea worm leads researchers to a breakthrough in targeting retroviruses at vulnerable human subpopulations and genocide is committed because we didn't exterminate it! See? You don't know that won't happen!
- pvaldes 7y ago
  > Your ideas are misguided and dangerous. Torches and pitchforks at this hour of the nigth? ok I'll start running. Well... Or maybe yours are wrong. At least you grant that biodiversity has "some" value. If we start wipping species just by caprice, there will be easier to extinguish the next. Is a slippery slope, and we will shoot ourselves in the face at some point with some serious and totally unexpected cascade of consequences. It has happened before. It happens all the time. > the parasite ruins lives For a year or less. Is a nuissance, for sure, but people can fully recover from it to enjoy the rest of their lives. Can be easily avoided with just a bucket and a piece of cloth and there is not any reason to let the people with the parasite walk for the water when a bucket is enough to alleviate their feet. Poliomyelitis ruin lifes, this... hem, not normally.
  - snagglegaggle 7y ago
    Alright, we've gone full circle. You're just repeating how super simple it is to avoid infection (it's not, otherwise no one would have guinea worm and it'd already be extinct!) and minimizing the impact this has on people's lives without actually addressing anything I've brought up.
    - pvaldes 7y ago
      Wouldn't be my intention to minimize the impact it has currently over the lifes of 30 people each year in the entire planet, but you must admit that among 7700000000 humans (0.0000000039 % of humanity affected by Guinea worm) is not a high number. With zero people dead by this animal in the last years, does not feel like its extinction would be an urgent problem to adress. If we wipe it, what would prevent somebody tomorrow to ask for the extinction of the much more dangerous sharks?, or tigers, polar bears, scary spiders, and dogs of course (dogs kill lots of people each year, maybe we should wipe them), or pretty much anything alive that could cause allergies to some people, or that could be seen by somebody as disgusting or ugly. Economic resources are limited and we have worse problems that are not being adressed.