Should we reengineer the world's deadliest animal?
5/27/202612 min
The most ferocious predator for us humans is actually quite small: the mosquito. They are hungry for blood, spreading diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue – and picking up new ones all the time. But what if we could wipe out the mosquito? Gene-editing technology could do it, potentially saving millions of lives. But it comes with serious potential for risk. Which begs the question: Should we get to decide when humanity rewrites nature? Here to discuss that is Ben Bradford, the host of a new podcast distributed by the NPR Network: Are We Doomed?
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Emily Kwong· Host0:16
[gentle music] You're listening to Short Wave from NPR. The most ferocious predator for us humans is actually quite small. [mosquito buzzing] It's the mosquito. They are hungry for blood and spreading diseases all the time, including serious ones like malaria, yellow fever, and dengue. But what if we could wipe out the mosquito? We have the technology to do it, but should we? Here to discuss that is Ben Bradford, the host of a new podcast distributed by the NPR network. It's called Are We Doomed?
Ben Bradford· Guest0:51
It is. Hi, Emily.
Emily Kwong· Host0:52
So Ben, your podcast, Are We Doomed?, covers a lot, um, from killer AI to- Mm-hmm ... nuclear weapons, and of course, the bloodthirsty micro-predators I wanna talk about today. How do you feel about mosquitoes, by the way?
Ben Bradford· Guest1:02
I think they're gross, and I think they're rude, and- [laughs] ... you mentioned, Emily, new gene editing techniques could allow us to eradicate our little insect nemesis, potentially saving millions of lives.
Emily Kwong· Host1:13
Yes, I learned that from you, from your show.
Ben Bradford· Guest1:14
Yeah, thank you.
Emily Kwong· Host1:15
The Tech Is Here.
Ben Bradford· Guest1:15
Yeah, thank you. A- and it would be amazing. Um, but also in that technology is something inherently more dangerous. I talked to Kevin Esvelt, who is a biologist now at the MIT Media Lab.
Kevin Esvelt· Soundbite1:27
If you can engineer a mosquito so it can't