Scientists have developed a new method that genetically blocks mosquitoes from transmitting malaria.
'Replacing a single amino acid in mosquitoes with another naturally occurring variant that prevents them from being infected with malarial parasites – and spreading that beneficial trait throughout a mosquito population – is a game-changer,' said Professor Ethan Bier, from the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, California, and co-corresponding author of the paper published in Nature. 'It's hard to believe that this one tiny change has such a dramatic effect.'
Mosquitoes kill more people each year than any other animal. The scientists used CRISPR genome editing to replace a single gene.
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