Malaria-resistant mosquito breakthrough
Scientists in the US have reportedly bred a new genetically modified species of mosquito that may prove crucial in the fight against malaria
The scientists, using a method of gene editing known as Crispr, put what is referred to as a ‘resistance’ gene into the mosquito’s DNA, resulting in a version of the insect that can resist the malaria infection. And, importantly, when the modified mosquitoes mated, they passed the new gene on to their offspring. If this technique can be applied out in the wider world, it could stop mosquitos from spreading malaria to humans.
Nearly half of the population of the world – approximately 3.2 billion people – are at risk from malaria, and 580,000 people die from it every year, despite the various methods of avoiding infection, and the drugs that can be given those who do contract the disease. Scientists have been on the lookout for an innovative new method of fighting malaria, and the scientists behind the genetically modified mosquitoes, who are from the University of California, believe that their new strategy could result in the breeding of resistant mosquitoes to replace those in endemic areas that carry malaria.
the scientists behind the genetically modified mosquitoes … believe that their new strategy could result in the breeding of resistant mosquitoes to replace those in endemic areas that carry malaria
“It’s not the finished product yet,” said Professor David Conway, a UK-based expert from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, “but it certainly looks promising. It does look like the genetic editing works.”
Some scientists had been interested in the possibility of modifying mosquitoes to make them infertile, so that the species dies out, but there are concerns that eliminating them could have potentially devastating unforeseen consequences, and that simply replacing malaria-carrying mosquitoes with harmless, resistant species is a safer alternative.
In related news, the UK government has said that it will set up a new £1-billion fund towards the eradication of malaria and other infectious diseases. The fund, known as the Ross Fund, will be run in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates; it is named for Sir Ronald Ross, Britain’s first Nobel Prize winner, who claimed the prize in 1902 after discovering that mosquitoes transmit malaria. Of the £1 billion, according to the BBC, £115 million will be earmarked ‘for research into new drugs, diagnostics and insecticides for malaria, TB and other infectious diseases’, and £188 million will go towards improving biodefence and rapid response systems to epidemics such as Ebola.
Bill Gates said that should malaria and other infectious diseases related to poverty be eradicated, it would be one of humanity’s ‘greatest achievements’. “With the combined skill and expertise of British scientists, leveraging the weight of both public and private financing, and the [UK’s] continued leadership … [the] announcement of the Ross Fund will play a key role in reaching that goal,” he said.