3.5M views · Jun 6, 2024 · 8:18 · 1 HN recommender · 3 mentions · discussed 2024–2025
A Half as Interesting explainer on the US program that drops millions of sterile screwworm flies over Panama every week to keep the parasite out of North America.
Why Hacker News points people here: Cited in screwworm threads as a short description of the sterile-insect barrier system that worked for decades.
“Here's a video describing the system that fell apart which had been working for a long time”HN comment, 2025
“Here's a video describing the system that fell apart which had been working for a long time”
Describes the long-running system keeping screwworm flies out of North America.
Here's a video describing the system that fell apart which had been working for a long time to keep these flies out of north america this video
“it's the best I got right now”
Explains sterile-fly control of screwworms.
Wow bummer, do you have a good link about that? Screw worms are controlled very successfully this way, although they are sterilized via radiation not genetic modification. I wonder if that makes a difference. Sorry to ask you for a link and use a YouTube video as my source but it's the best I got right now: this video
“though it's from a youtube video so I'm not sure how much to trust it.”
I believe now they use sterile mosquito larva to achieve the same now [0], though it's from a youtube video so I'm not sure how much to trust it. [0] this video
