Malaria-Resistant Mosquito Developed

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2007/mar/21/032103502.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - 0321dv-malaria-mosquitos Researchers have developed a malaria-resistant mosquito, a step that might one day help block the spread of an illness that has claimed millions of lives around the world.

When they fed on malaria-infected mice, the resistant mosquitoes had a higher survival rate than nonresistant ones, meaning they could eventually replace the ones that can carry the disease, according to a report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Jason Rasgon of the department of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University cautioned that the research so far is only a proof of principle and any field tests remain far away.

Nonetheless, it's a goal eagerly sought by scientists in hope of developing a practical way of blocking the spread of malaria.

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[phantom power]

1. There's some interesting commentary on this here...

discussing the population genetics of this new mosquito in relation to the unmodified mosquitos. They reach a population equilibrium of 70% new, 30% unmodified:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/03/curing_malaria_by_helping_mosq.php#more