Scientists use gene-editing to destroy mosquito population in lab
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Technique could be used to control spread of malaria, researchers believe.
By Samuel Osborne
Scientists have successfully wiped out a population of mosquitoes in a laboratory using a type of genetic engineering.
The researchers managed to eliminate the population within 11 generations, suggesting in a paper published in the journal Nature Biology that the technique could be used to control the spread of malaria.
They used a type of gene editing known as gene drive, which spread a modification designed to block female reproduction.
'It will still be at least five to ten years before we consider testing any mosquitoes with gene drive in the wild, but now we have some encouraging proof that we’re on the right path,’ said Andrea Crisanti, a professor at Imperial College London who co-led the work.
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