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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> spike [mailto:spike66@att.net] <br><br><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>>…</span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Perhaps [mosquitoes] perform some unknown beneficial function (it better be a really good one to convince me to keep the needlenose bastards.) …That would be a hell of a breakthrough: breed mosquitoes that don’t bite humans but bite rats…spike<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Further random thought: this notion perhaps isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. Do follow my line of reasoning please:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 1: The mosquito’s proboscis must penetrate the skin to get to the blood. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 2: we know that the skin thickness of a mammal is very roughly proportional to it linear dimension, for completely understandable reasons. An elephant has skin perhaps ten times thicker than that of a rat.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 3: Mosquitoes are already at a size which makes it impossible for it to penetrate the skin of a larger mammal such as an elephant, but has no trouble at all with humans (dammit.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 4: It is theoretically possible to push a species through breeding (a toy poodle is a highly-bred wolf.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 5: If we can use CRISPR or some tech like it, we could couple smaller (or less rigid) proboscis mosquitoes with more sexually attractive (to other mosquitoes) traits, causing the smaller-proboscis genes to spread throughout the population.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Step 6: If successful, perhaps we could create mosquitoes which cannot bite elephants, rhinos, hippos, humans, the larger beasts, but can and do successfully penetrate the thinner skin on the smaller, shorter-haired mammals, such as rats, squirrels, moles, perhaps birds (not sure on the whole feathers thing), mice and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>If that line of reasoning is compelling, then what we are looking for is a gene already within the mosquito population which results in a longer but smaller diameter proboscis, in order to get past fur but unable to penetrate the thick tough hide of a human. It sure seems like that gene should be in there somewhere. We find it, CRISPR link it to whatever mosquitoes find sexy, breed it up, turn it loose. Eventually we have mosquitoes that still bite, but don’t bite humans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>