#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage. #genomics #genetics