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Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight the Spread of Malaria
By Colleen Barry
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Posted Mar 20, 07 8:06 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Genetically modified mosquitoes that cannot pass on malaria may help reduce the spread of the disease that now causes a million deaths a year, mostly children. A new study shows that the lab-designed bugs could out-breed their natural competition, eventually driving them out altogether and eliminating the route through which humans are infected.
Before any disease-resistant skeeters can be released into the wild, researchers will have to prove that they won't accidentally provide a breeding ground for a more virulent strain of malaria. Andrea Crisanti, a researcher separately working on modified mosquitoes, said, "This has tremendous potential...You don't need insecticides any more."