Flies that eat organic waste are genetically engineered. Where new technologies are born.
【Flies genetically engineered to eat lots of human waste are emerging.】
https://gigazine.net/news/20240726-fly-eat-humanity-waste-genetically-engineer/
・The genes of flies are being manipulated to increase the variety of organic waste that they can eat.
・This will allow for more efficient processing of organic waste such as food scraps produced by humans, as well as the effective use of the grown flies for the benefit of humans.
・Researchers have also manipulated Drosophila melanogaster to express the microbial enzymes organic mercury lyase and mercury reductase, both derived from Escherichia coli, and have successfully biodegraded methylmercury.
・If this can be applied to the black soldier fly, it could be used to clean up organic waste contaminated with mercury.
・The researchers are concerned that the genetically engineered flies may escape and pose a risk to the environment.
・Further research on black soldier flies is needed to enable the production of high-value biomolecules from many types of organic waste. Organic waste is an abundant resource worldwide, and if this technology is developed, it could be used in businesses and infrastructure that produce industrial waste,” the researchers said.
These are the quotes from the article
Where new technologies are born
The article reminded me of a plan to use genetic engineering to create large numbers of mosquitoes that cannot produce children (second generation children), thereby making mosquitoes extinct.
In terms of decomposing organic waste and turning it into resources, genetically engineered flies are very innovative, but I have some mixed feelings.
As for the concern that “the genetically engineered flies won’t escape and pose a risk to the environment,” my mixed feelings were especially reinforced by the part where the researchers say that “genetic engineering can also remove the ability to fly.” (Imagine a fly that can’t fly, created by the human ego, and it’s kind of, you know, pitiful.)
However, this is just my personal feeling. Perhaps, I guess that the more one has an atypical feeling for nature and the earth, the more complicated these feelings become. (I wonder if those who don’t have such feelings would be like, “Okay, go ahead and do it.”)
Well, let’s leave this point of view for once,
Another thought,
Technology that breaks down organic waste and converts it into resources is great, but what about technology that prevents the generation of organic waste? Isn’t that more important? I mean, what about the technology to prevent the generation of organic waste?
If we could develop a technology that does not produce organic waste, I think it would fundamentally change the world for the better.
But I think it would be very difficult to do so.
The reason for this is, of course, technical difficulties,
The biggest reason why I think it is difficult is, of course, the technical difficulty, but also the human ego and mechanism,
human ego and mechanism.
To be specific,
There is a system that is being established while producing organic waste, i.e., there are people who are profiting from it.
There will be a significant number of people who do not want to change that system or flow.
This is the main reason, I imagine, why radical new technologies are unlikely to emerge.
New technologies will continue to emerge in those places and areas that do not change the mechanisms and rules (maintain the status quo of the mechanisms), but fundamental ones will be hard to come by for these reasons.
However,
The ideal is still,
The ideal, however, would be an epoch-making new technology that changes the fundamental structure and rules.
I think it will be very difficult to achieve this,
We would like to support them by keeping our antennae open for such things as much as possible.
That’s all,
The story of a fly eating organic waste made me think of this.
See you then
From the point of view of those who created the game (rules), game (rule) changers are a problem, right?
