Mosquitoes will soon be unable to spread malaria, all thanks to scientists who discovered a way to prevent the spread of the disease by tweaking genes of mosquito species carrying the malaria-causing parasite.
The technique was developed by University of California (UC) scientists, who said last Monday that the tweaking of genes in the Anopheles stephensi, the common vector for the disease, should spread the "malaria-blocking" genes to the entire mosquito population and ultimately pass it on to their offspring, according to the university's news release.
The details of the study appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
To create the mutant mosquito, scientists from the UC Irvine and San Diego campuses gave the A. stephensi a new deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) code that stopped the transmission of malaria using the Crispr gene-editing tool. Furthermore, this tweaked gene was inherited by 99.5 percent of the mosquitoes' offspring.
UC Irvine's molecular biologist Anthony James said in the release that their study "opens up the real promise that this technique can be adapted for eliminating malaria."
Researchers are optimistic about the method being effective in different species of mosquito, BBC News noted. Although the newly discovered technique won't be the only solution against malaria, it can serve as a supporting method for malaria treatment.
Malaria is considered one of the significant health issues worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that around 1,500 malaria cases are reported in the United States every year. Most of these cases are found in traveling individuals and immigrants coming from regions where the disease is common.
The agency also reported almost one million deaths per year are caused by the disease, mostly affecting African infant population, young children, and pregnant women.
Researchers from UC admitted that further testing and field studies on the malaria-blocking genes should be conducted. But they also believe that it should be a "significant first step."
"We know the gene works. The mosquitoes we created are not the final brand, but we know this technology allows us to efficiently create large populations," James said.
