Murray Wood: Isn't it time for more 'we' than 'oui' in Rideau Hall?
Louise Arbour brings much more than French skills to her role as the king's representative, but she also has taken contr...
A professor from Colorado Mesa University thinks mosquitoes are the deadliest predator in human history.
Dr. Timothy Winegard told 650 CKOM’s Gormley that approximately half of all humans since our evolution have been killed by mosquitoes. That’s over 50 billion people.
He said major historical events have been influenced by mosquitoes. For instance, the Seven Years War would have turned out differently without their presence. That war led to England gaining control over what would eventually become Canada.
“Half of the French troops (in the Caribbean) within six months were killed by yellow fever and malaria. So what ended up happening is … the French started diverting resources from Quebec,” he explained.
He said this is a major reason that France lost control of Canada.
Even with consequences this major, Winegard doesn’t think the entire species should be wiped out.
“They do serve an ecological purpose. Nobody is promoting the eradication of all mosquitoes off of the face of the planet,” he told Gormley.
“The mosquito by itself doesn’t harm anyone, it’s the diseases she transmits.”
Because of this, he believes there are efficient methods to reduce the amount of harm they can do.
He said it’s possible to genetically modify mosquitoes to “make them harmless by making them incapable of actually vectoring diseases.”
Mosquito-driven diseases aren’t very common in Saskatchewan. Saskatoon’s entomologist said no mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile this year.
