BREAKTHROUGH! SCIENTISTS WIPING OUT MALARIA!

Infection spread by mosquitoes kills 445,000 every year

MALARIA, an agonizing parasitic infection that kills 445,000 people every year, is on the brink of being eliminated — thanks to revolutionary gene technology that targets the blood-sucking carriers of the mosquito-borne illness.

A team from Imperial College London was able to block the reproductive capacity of mosquitoes in a laboratory setting through a “designer molecular” approach.

The method, called gene drive, focused on a specific species of the insect, which is responsible for thousands of deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa.

By altering the gene that determines if a bug is male or female, scientists prevented some females from biting and laying eggs.

While male mosquitoes showed no changes at all, the females displayed characteristics of both sexes, and after eight generations, no additional girl bugs were born and the isolated population died out.

Female mosquitoes are the only biters in the bunch, using protein from the blood of humans and animals to develop eggs. But those nibbles can leave more than itchy bites behind.

Mosquitoes transmit many dangerous diseases, including malaria, which is caused by a parasite. Sufferers typically develop high fever, vomiting and diarrhea.

But the condition — especially the type common in tropical parts of Africa — is often fatal, due to organ failure, brain damage or fluid in the lungs.

“This breakthrough shows that gene drive can work, providing hope in the fight against a disease that has plagued mankind for centuries,” says Dr. Andrea Crisanti, the research team leader.

But Crisanti cautions, “It will be at least five to ten years before we consider testing any mosquitoes in the wild.”