Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Are 100 Percent Resistant to Malaria Parasite
Mosquito James Gathany/CDCThe new bug is the first with complete resistance to the parasite -- and it passes that gene on to its children Scientists at the University of Arizona have successfully bred genetically modified mosquitoes that are 100 percent resistant to the malaria parasite, rendering the mosquito incapable of infecting humans with malaria. For years, researchers have tried to engineer mosquitoes so that they're immune to the parasite that carries malaria -- a single-celled organism called Plasmodium. But previous attempts only succeeded in destroying about 97 percent of malaria parasites in mosquitoes' bodies. The difference between 97 and 100 percent might seem negligible, but Michael Riehle, who led the new study, says that 3 percent means the difference between success and failure. "If you want to effectively stop the spreading of the malaria parasite, you need mosquitoes that are no less than 100 percent resistant to it," he said. In...