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It would be quite ironic if The Great Filter turned out to be the xeno equivalent of mosquitoes spreading some unstoppable virus. Or if mosquito saliva contains
by yourapostasy 5y ago
It would be quite ironic if The Great Filter turned out to be the xeno equivalent of mosquitoes spreading some unstoppable virus. Or if mosquito saliva contains the proteins(s) to unlock some medical breakthrough like some immune system stimulant that obsoletes antibiotics, or cryo-sleep. I try to keep those possibilities in mind whenever I get carried away with my fantasies of an anopheles genetic bomb, but durnit, those bites do have a convincing way about them to persuade one to a "kill 'em all" disposition. Thanks for the paper, it was a very neat read.
- jcims 5y agoAgreed. It boggles my mind that people are willing to just assume that all of the unknowns balance in our favor when it comes to wiping out mosquitoes. How many species has the human immune system had to adapt to more than mosquitoes? Yes they kill a lot of people, but its entirely possible that by normalizing the immune response against wide swaths of the planet they save a lot more.
- Vrondi 5y agoMosquitos don't kill a lot of people. The Malaria parasites kill a lot of people.