Genetically engineering mosquitoes to end malaria could have ‘unintended consequences’…”Plan to spread malaria-resistant genes could backfire scientists warn”

Friday, March 20, 2015
By Paul Martin

STEVE CONNOR
IndependentUK
Thursday 19 March 2015

A new way of creating genetically modified insects could wipe out many mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria within a few years but it could also unleash potentially devastating unintended consequences, scientists have warned.

Researchers have devised a method of bypassing a fundamental barrier to the rapid spread of genes within a population. They believe that it could be used to spread malaria-resistant genes in mosquitoes to prevent transmission of disease to people.

However, it could also be used to spread harmful genes rapidly in the wild, which has led other researchers to call for the imposition of strict safety controls over such research in case of an accidental escape from a laboratory.

The Rest…HERE

Leave a Reply

Join the revolution in 2018. Revolution Radio is 100% volunteer ran. Any contributions are greatly appreciated. God bless!

Follow us on Twitter