Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight the Spread of Malaria

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2007 8:06 AM CDT
Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight the Spread of Malaria
United States. New Orleans. CDC medical research on tiger mosquitoes. 1991 (LON32941)    (Magnum Photos)

Genetically modified mosquitoes that cannot pass on malaria may help reduce the spread of the disease that now causes a million deaths a year, mostly children. A new study shows that the lab-designed bugs could out-breed their natural competition, eventually driving them out altogether and eliminating the route through which humans are infected.

Before any disease-resistant skeeters can be released into the wild, researchers will have to prove that they won't accidentally provide a breeding ground for a more virulent strain of malaria. Andrea Crisanti, a researcher separately working on modified mosquitoes, said, "This has tremendous potential...You don't need insecticides any more." (More evolution stories.)

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