Mosquitoes modified to only give birth to males
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Mosquitoes modified to only give birth to males in bid to wipe out malariaGenetically modified mosquitoes could help stamp out malaria by preventing biting females from being produced
Mosquitoes have been genetically modified so they only give birth to males in a new technique that scientists hope could help to wipe out malaria.The disease is spread by female mosquitoes, which pass on the disease when they bite humans.
But researchers from Imperial College London have now tested a new method that introduces genetically modified mosquitoes to normal Anopheles gambiae mosquito populations, the main carrier of the malaria parasite.
The GM insects had been altered so that they would not produce female offspring.
In the first laboratory tests where the modified mosquitoes were mixed with normal insects, 95% of the eggs laid hatched into males.
It is hoped that if this could be replicated in the wild, the technique would ultimately cause the malaria-carrying mosquito population to die out within a few generations.
Dr Nikolai Windbichler, a lead researcher from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, said: "What is most promising about our results is that they are self-sustaining.
"Once modified mosquitoes are introduced, males will start to produce mainly sons, and their sons will do the same, so essentially the mosquitoes carry out the work for us."
Although scientists have bred infertile mosquitos before, this is the first time they have been able to manipulate the sex ratios of mosquito populations.
[...]
Read the full article at: telegraph.co.uk
READ: Biotech company secretly releases millions of GM mosquitoes in Cayman Islands
