Malaria Mosquitoes Wiped Out in Lab

There’s been some big science news this week! In fact HUGE news in the constant fight against mosquitoes.  A breakthrough in the lab where the ‘gene drive’ technique has been tested has managed to wipe out the malaria carrying mosquitoes! The mosquito borne disease kills thousands every year with many deaths being children under the age of 5. Here’s an article with more information.

Malaria ‘breakthrough’: Disease-carrying mosquitoes wiped out in major lab experiment

Scientists in the U.K. have eliminated malaria-carrying mosquitoes in lab experiments touted as a breakthrough in the battle against the killer disease. There were 216 million malaria cases worldwide in 2016, according to World Health Organization data, which resulted in 445,000 deaths, most of which were children under the age of five. Researchers at Imperial College London used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to spread a genetic modification that blocked female reproduction in the lab mosquitoes.

If you want to find out more about the CRISPR technology used, here’s a video that explains it a little bit more.

With science on our side, there’s hope for a future with a significant reduction of mosquito borne diseases.

Researchers uncover ‘very promising’ malaria breakthrough

UK researchers have found a way to completely eliminate populations of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. It’s hoped the technique could help combat the disease-spreading pest in the wild. Now, scientists at the Imperial College London may have found a way to eradicate entire populations of them, using gene drive technology that stops female mosquitoes from reproducing.

Of course, it’s not just malaria that we need to worry about. Mosquitoes are the culprit for spreading many other harmful and sometimes fatal diseases. Wherever you are, make sure you always keep yourself protected from these pests. One bite is all it takes from an infected mosquito to have a life changing consequence.