Genetically Altered Mosquitoes May Offer Hope to Control Malaria(2/2)

Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena is with the Malaria Research Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Jacobs-Lorena says investigators created genetically engineered mosquitoes that were more hardy than so-called wild-type mosquitoes that carry the parasite, and put the blood sucking insects to the test. In an article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jacobs-Lorena and colleagues report having an equal number of genetically engineered mosquitoes and wild-type insects feast on a malaria-infected mouse. After nine generations, the percent of altered mosquitoes increased from 50 percent to 70 percent.

If and when scientists are able to breed transgenic mosquitoes in numbers that might make a difference in the spread of malaria, Jacobs-Lorena says researchers have to make sure such insects do not cause an unforeseen harm. "We have to be absolutely sure that any genetically modified mosquito does not cause any harm in the environment or cause unpredictable harm to people that they bite."

Despite the obstacles, Jacobs-Lorena is optimistic that genetically altered mosquitoes will one day take their place alongside " class="hjdict" word="alongside " target=_blank>alongside other strategies to fight malaria.