A Mosquito Mutation

A genetic approach could be the key to eradicating malaria, say researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Washington. The Los Angeles Times' Amina Khan speaks with senior author Andrea Crisanti from Imperial College about the team's approach to genetically modifying mosquitoes that carry malaria. Taking advantage of DNA repair enzymes, the team targets and disrupts genes involved in the transmission of the disease. "In the lab, we saw the mutation spread to more than half the population of mosquitoes we had living in cages. This happened in a time span of 12 to 16 generations of mosquitoes," Crisanti says. "So it's quite efficient."