The 2016 Olympic circus has opened. Fittingly, the Olympic logo has five rings -- two more than the famous threering circuses pioneered by Barnum and Bailey. For the next two weeks, until the closing ceremonies at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time Sunday August 21, the media will swamp us with hype about individual athletes, medal counts, doping scandals, and self-congratulatory speeches by officials. Don’t get me wrong. I’m in awe of those athletes. I hold my breath as they push their lithe bodies towards impossible goals. But the medal counts leave me cold. As Maclean’s asked, “Is it an event in which individual athletes compete to see who is fastest, highest, or strongest? Or is it a competition between nations that happens to involve athletes?”

Mainly about mosquitoes

When all the medals have been awarded, and all the speeches made, I suspect that Rio de Janeiro will be remembered less for any individual athlete than for a humble insect. With impeccable timing, National Geographic magazine’s August issue featured the mosquito. Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg called it “the most dangerous non-human animal on earth.” That pesky insect kills more people every year than all the great white sharks, man-eating tigers, poisonous snakes, and lightning strikes combined. We have known for years that mosquitoes transmit malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus, dengue fever, and some forms of encephalitis. Malaria alone kills more than 400,000 people every year, and affects millions more. I, for example, cannot give blood or donate organs today because I had malaria, 70 years ago. More recently, mosquitoes have been identified as carriers of the chikungunya virus in parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. And most significantly, as carriers of the Zika virus. There are about 3500 species of mosquitoes. But most of the diseases are carried by two: Anopheles gambiae, for malaria; Aedes aegypti, for yellow fever, dengue fever… and Zika.

Zika virus spreads

The Zika virus exploded into prominence last year in Brazil, where it was linked to microcephaly -- the births of around 5,000 babies with abnormally small skulls. No one knows yet the long-term effects on mental development. Nor does anyone know yet the long-term effects of Brazil’s massive programs of pesticide spraying. A number of Canada’s top-ranked athletes chose not to compete at the Olympics; they didn’t want to risk getting infected by an Aedes mosquito. Until recently, only travellers to equatorial countries like Brazil needed to fear the Zika virus. But now Zika has gone home-grown. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have confirmed 15 Zika cases among residents who had not left Miami. Aedes mosquitoes were already there; now they too carry the virus. Most of the southern U.S. is in danger. One quarter of Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million inhabitants may contract Zika. Nothing in the National Geographic’s coverage suggests that these mosquitoes have any beneficial value.

Can any good come out of mosquitoes? The first chapter of the book of Job in the Bible implies that God and Satan used to get together to discuss the state of the world over a cup of tea. So I imagine God reminding Satan that He created the world, and everything that lives on it, in just six days. And He declared it good -- all of it. “There!” God challenges Satan. “Top that!” So Satan thought for a while. And created the mosquito. Okay, that’s not in the Bible. But it’s hard to see how God could create the mosquito and call it good. Attempts at control have failed. Mosquito nets protect against Anopheles, which bites at night; they don’t deter Aedes, which bites in daylight. So what can we do?

Massive ethical decisions

The National Geographic report discussed the new science of manipulating DNA. Anthony James, a molecular geneticist at the University of California, Irvine, has already engineered an Anopheles mosquito incapable of spreading the malaria parasite. Aedes mosquitoes carry a more diverse range of viruses. But they could be rendered sterile. Or incapable of producing female offspring; only female mosquitoes draw blood. Does this constitute playing God? (Or, in my imaginative scenario, combatting Satan?) It is now possible, the Geographic’s lead article by Michael Spector claimed, to “alter, delete, or re-arrange the DNA of any living organism.” Including mosquitoes. And us. If we can manipulate mosquito DNA to eliminate certain diseases, why shouldn’t we also manipulate DNA to produce faster runners? Where do we draw the line? “No discovery of the past century holds more promise,” National Geographic editorialized, “or raises more troubling ethical questions.” Given the potential of DNA gene drives, the Russian doping scandal might someday look amateurish. The fate of mosquitoes may leave a larger mark than the fleet feet of sprinter Andre de Grasse. ********************************************************
Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved. To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca
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YOUR TURN
There was no column last Sunday, just some letters about the previous week’s column on plagiarism in politics (and other places) Robert Mason continued that thread with reference to a sermon he heard: “It was entirely biblically based, with illustrations from the pastor’s own life, and numerous plagiarisms including some from old Monty Python shows -- though he didn't quote the source. Did that matter? Not at all, and it got the entire congregation enthralled, at times laughing and clapping at the humour.”

 In last week’s mailing, I commented about the joy of not having politics, especially U.S. politics, inflicted on me for a whole week while I was camping and hiking in the backwoods of the Rockies. Cliff Boldt sympathized: “I'm not in the wilderness, but I am in Sweden and it is a treat not be bombarded with U.S. politics and of course the sunny ways of our new Prime Minister. I think it is good for the soul and mental health to be out of the normal for a period of time. For me it puts the Comox Valley in a different perspective -- often positive but with frequent jars of comparison. And always seeing new things and appreciating their juxtaposition with things back home.”

Robert Caughell had similar thoughts: “Happy to hear that you had a great time, completely disconnected from the modern world. I just re-read a book on Stephen Hawking and the creation of the Universe. Whether from a Big Bang, Bubbles or the work of a creator, we exist. It is up to us to make the most of it while we do. Help others. Seek out knowledge, the truth, live our lives as an example for others.” Good advice. The prophet Micah would probably agree. 
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TECHNICAL STUFF
This column comes to you using the electronic facilities of Woodlakebooks.com.        If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the “Reply” button.        To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the address above. Or subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message) to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at sharpedgesunsubscribe@lists.quixotic.ca.        You can access several years of archived columns at http://edges.Canadahomepage.net.        I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly, at the address above, or send a blank e-mail to softedgessubscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

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