The Daily Populous

Wednesday August 26th, 2020 evening edition

image for Florida is going to release 750 million mosquitoes genetically engineered to decimate the mosquito population

In the Florida Keys, the local mosquito control agency has just approved the release of 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes.

Oxitec, the U.K.-based company that engineered the mosquitoes, plans to place boxes filled with mosquito eggs in the area, releasing male mosquitoes bred with the self-limiting gene.

Because only female mosquitoes bite humans, this can help stop the spread of disease.

“With repeated releases over a number of weeks, the population of females gradually reduces,” says Kevin Gorman, Oxitec’s head of global field operations.

(Oxitec says that as it has tested its mosquitoes in other areas, it hasn’t seen significant increases of the Asian Tiger mosquito.).

“We would like them to mock up the Florida environment before they release three-quarters of a million mosquitoes.”

He argues that there’s also a risk that the engineered mosquitoes could cross-breed with native species, creating hybrids that might be more resistant to insecticides. »

Former One America News correspondent Emily Miller gets senior FDA post

Authored by salon.com
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Miller has tweeted frequently about the coronavirus pandemic over the last few months, but her understanding of basic underlying science and health issues appears limited.

Herring told Salon that OANN thinks of itself almost exclusively as a national cable news channel, not as a news site.

On July 6, the day after her conversation with Cuban, Miller learned how to isolate data to make her own death chart. »

Same-sex penguin couple welcomes baby chick after adopting and hatching an egg together

Authored by cbsnews.com
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A pair of female penguins at an aquarium in Spain have welcomed a baby chick, the Oceanogràfic València aquarium announced this month.

The two penguins, Electra and Viola, adopted an egg from another penguin couple, incubated and hatched it, and will now raise the chick, the aquarium said in a press release.

Of the 25 Gentoo penguins at the aquarium, three couples have welcomed babies so far this breeding season, Oceanogràfic València said. »

Study suggests pornography use is common for partnered individuals — and unrelated to relationship satisfaction

Authored by psypost.org
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“This study is the first to use daily diaries to examine pornography use, so the findings are quite novel.

In the study, 77 same-sex couples and 140 mixed-sex couples individually completed daily measures of pornography use, relationship satisfaction, sexual desire, and sexual activity for 35 consecutive days.

The researchers also found that pornography use was related to same-day sexual desire and activity, but unrelated to relationship satisfaction. »