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March 22, 2007: Challenge the villain
with another villain of he same kind. Scientists a
the Malaria Research Institute at Johns Hopkins
University in Maryland seem to be doing that. They
have created a mosquito that is resistant to
malaria.
Genetically engineering a mosquito that is
resistant to malaria has now raised great hopes to
the world that is combating the disease. It is
believed that the modified mosquito survives
better than its disease-carrying brethren and the
gene is transmitted to future generations. The
findings reveal that if such a mosquito can
dominate in the wild, replacing the
parasite-bearing ones, it could prevent humans
being infected with malaria, a report stated.
The report elaborated that researchers led by
Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena created genetically modified
mosquitoes by giving them a gene that made it
impossible for them to pass on the plasmodium
parasite that causes malaria. It added that as
many as 1,200 genetically modified mosquitoes were
then released into a cage holding malaria-infected
mice and the same number of wild mosquitoes. As
they reproduced, more of the transgenic mosquitoes
survived. After nine generations, 70% of the
insects belonged to the malaria-resistant strain.
The findings added that the ones immune to the
parasite lived longer and laid more eggs.
It can be seen that the new method of eradicating
malaria could be the order of generations to come
as it is more feasible than the chemical
treatments deployed at the moment.
BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT
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