This is an aggregation of scholarly literature from peer-reviewed journals, bioRxiv , medRxiv and arXiv preprint servers focused on natural and engineered selfish genetic elements and genetic biocontrol. New citations are added as they appear. This content is intended for anyone interested in the scholarly literature on gene drive and genetic biocontrol.
Tags:Genetic engineering, Mosquitoes, Risk and safety, Risk assessment
J.B. Connolly, Y. Devos, D.C.M. Glandorf, and J. Romeis,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.,
2026.
The recent opinion piece of Christophe Boëte critiqued the concept of the target species complex (TSC) in environmental risk assessment (ERA) of engineered gene drives (EGDs) (1). While constructive debate is essential, the piece misrepresents the purpose of TSC and conflates ...
Tags:Africa, Fish, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Population suppression, Risk assessment
Bobo, E. D.,
All Life,
19.
2026.
CRISPR-based suppression gene drives represent a promising tool for managing invasive Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) populations in sub-Saharan Africa’s freshwater ecosystems. Introduced through aquaculture, Nile tilapia supports livelihoods but also causes severe ...
Tags:Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Wolbachia
Yoosook Lee, Omar S. Akbari,
Current Opinion in Insect Science,
2026.
Genetic biocontrol is a form of biological control in which genetic variants or genetically modified forms of the target species act to reduce or eliminate the target species. In entomology, target species include agricultural pests and vector species that transmit pathogens to ...
Tags:Africa, Genetically modified organisms, Monitoring and Surveillance, Regulation
Julia Njagi, John Muriuki, Paul Mbugua, et al.,
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology,
2026.
Genetically modified (GM) crops with improved traits such as resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and enhanced nutritional profiles have been commercially cultivated for over three decades. Despite extensive safety data and long-term cultivation experience, concerns continue ...
This is a curated collection of scholarly and non-scholarly materials that can be found in the Scholarly Literature and Media Coverage databases that are ‘opinion-heavy’. This collection is intended to capture the full range of thought and opinion about gene drive technologies.
Tags:Arbovirus, Asia, Dengue, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Vector control, Wolbachia
Kabirul Bashar, Dr Zonaed Siddiki. Dr Zonaed Siddiki, et al.,
Dhaka Tribune,
2025.
Bangladesh is once again in the grip of a severe dengue and chikungunya crisis in 2025. Hospitals are overwhelmed, fever wards are full, and doctors are working tirelessly. Families live in fear of mosquito bites, while daily news reports chronicle rising infections and deaths. ...
Tags:Ecology, Gene drive, Genetic engineering, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessment
C. Boëte,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.,
122.
2025.
The development of engineered gene drive systems continues to garner significant interest. Theoretically, these systems could spread traits in a target species (an approach known as population replacement) or eliminate a population within a few generations (population ...
Tags:Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene editing, Risk and safety
David Farrier,
Aeon,
2025.
At the end of August 1939, the German archaeologist Otto Völzing discovered around 200 fragments of carved mammoth ivory at the back of a cave in southern Germany. With war just a week away, Völzing’s find was hurriedly collected in a box, where it lay unnoticed in a museum ...
Tags:Africa, Regulation, Stakeholder engagement, Target malaria
Jon Fleetwood,
Substack,
2025.
Last month, the military government of Burkina Faso has done what no Western regulator dared to do: it ordered the immediate termination of Bill Gates’ genetically modified mosquito project—‘Target Malaria’—and the destruction of all bioengineered insect samples inside ...
This is a database of print and digital media coverage of gene drive technologies and genetic biocontrol-related topics. This database is intended to serve experts and non-experts by capturing how gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies and issues around the technologies are being represented, discussed, debated and evaluated by the public.
Tags:Genetic engineering, North America, Other arthropods, Rodents
Dave Puglisi,
7News,
2026.
Tiny insects are spreading a devastating disease. Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe they’ve discovered something that could help stop Lyme disease before it starts. “The right side of my body went numb. I felt disoriented. My heart was ...
Tags:Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria Foreign Policy,
2025.
Malaria kills nearly 600,000 people every year, with 95 percent of deaths occurring in Africa. Most of them are children under the age of 5. While progress on curbing malaria has flattened in recent years, new scientific breakthroughs may bring the world closer than ever not ...
Tags:Dengue, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, South/Central America, Video, Wolbachia
Adam Levy & Mariana Lenharo,
Nature,
2025.
Raising mosquitoes to tackle disease might sound like an odd concept, but that’s what a facility in Brazil is aiming to do. Millions of mosquitoes are produced there every week, but these insects carry harmless Wolbachia bacteria that curbs their ability to spread deadly ...
This is a collection of articles compiled from lay news sources, including newspapers, newscasts, blogs, and other non-academic communications. This content illustrates how genetic biocontrol and gene drive technologies are described in popular media.
Tags:Africa, Stakeholder engagement
Nana Appiah Acquaye,
Tech Review Africa,
2026.
Imperial College London has hosted a delegation of journalists from Ghana and Nigeria under the UK-Ghana Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) Media Capacity Programme. The initiative, supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the British High Commission ...
Tags:Mosquitoes, North America, Sterile insect technique (SIT)
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
2026.
Residents were supposed to get a respite from the ankle-nipping mosquitoes that fueled a recent surge in dengue fever in Los Angeles County. Typically, the invasive mosquitoes — called Aedes aegypti — essentially disappear from winter until early May in the region. Instead, ...
Tags:Africa, Policy, Stakeholder engagement Ifakara Health Institute,
2026.
The Transmission Zero Program’s team at the Ifakara Health Institute hosted key stakeholders from government and research institutions in Dar es Salaam on March 17-18, to review progress and strengthen collaboration on the Transmission Zero project, an international research ...
Tags:Agriculture, Genetic biocontrol, North America
Ian MacKay,
Oyen Echo,
2026.
Three projects intended to deal with the canola disease verticillium stripe stand out among 11 research programs that a prairie growers consortium is funding this year. Leaders of the canola agronomic research program have chosen projects that they feel are “key to advancing ...
