Gene Drive in the News

A curated collection of articles from the popular press

AUDA-NEPAD launches the 2nd edition APET report on gene drives for malaria control and elimination

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Charles Mugoya,  Target Malaria,  2025.
With support from the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the African Union published its 1st APET report in 2018 which noted that that, while the existing mosquito control interventions have significantly reduced the burden of malaria across Africa, complementary new ...

Stowers scientists uncover principles underlying the toxicity of “selfish” genes

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Stowers Institute for Medical Research,  PRNewswire,  2025.
Lurking within the genomes of nearly all species—including plants, fungi, and even humans—are genes that are passed from generation to generation with no clear benefit to the organism. Called "selfish" genes, they can sometimes be harmful or even lethal. A recent study from ...

Exploring the ecology of malaria mosquitoes in São Tomé and Príncipe

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Lisa Chamberland,  Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research,  2025.
As part of our work to develop new genetic approaches for malaria control, the University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) is studying mosquito movement and breeding patterns in São Tomé and Príncipe. In a study published last year, we investigated the dispersal ...

Ghana committed to exploring gene drive to combat malaria – Minister

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Ghana News Agency,  2025.
Ghana has expressed interest in exploring gene drive technology as a new approach to combatting malaria. The country is open to adopting technology that is cost-effective, efficient, harmless and has the potential to significantly reduce malaria transmission, especially in areas ...

Monitoring Gene Drives: A Living Literature Review on Gene Drive Research

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International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,  Monitoring Gene Drives,  2025.
Literature reviews have always been essential for summarizing the current state of a research field. However, in areas that evolve rapidly—like gene drive technology—traditional reviews can become outdated quickly. While peer-reviewed research is invaluable for pinpointing ...

Ghana hosts 2nd Global Congress on new, emerging genetic biocontrol technologies

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Ama Kudom-Agyemang,  EnviroNews Nigeria,  2025.
From Monday, March 17 to Thursday, March 20, 2025, Ghana is hosting a gathering of science, health and communication experts to deliberate on and contribute to innovative scientific exploits for Africa’s health sector. The over 150 African national and international ...

Gene drive modified mosquitoes offer new tool for malaria elimination efforts

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Conrad Duncan,  Imperial,  2025.
Transmission Zero, a research team from Imperial College London in partnership with the Ifakara Health Institute and the National Institute of Medical Research in Tanzania, has developed genetic technology which renders a mosquito unable to transmit the malaria parasite and has a ...

Making sex deadly for insects could control pests that carry disease and harm crops

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Bill Sullivan,  The Conversation,  2025.
Insects do a lot more harm than ruining picnics. Some insects spread devastating diseases, while others cause staggering economic losses in agriculture. To control some of these pests, scientists are developing males that make sex a deadly event. The stakes are high. Mosquitoes ...

A Gene Drive with a Disappearing Act Can Aid Pest Control

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Shelby Bradford, PhD,  The Scientist,  2025.
Geneticists developed a gene drive that reverts insecticide-resistant mutations in insects, using a system that gradually eliminates itself from the genome. This breakthrough offers a potential solution to combat insecticide resistance without permanently altering species, and ...

Progress made for blackchin tilapia control in Thailand

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The Fish Site,  2025.
Despite tilapia being one of the most widely farmed fish in the global aquaculture industry, invasive populations of the blackchin tilapia - a cichlid native to West Africa - have been devastating the productivity of aquaculture operations throughout Thailand. However, a ...

Uganda expands genetically modified mosquito survey in Mukono, Kalangala islands

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David Ssekayinga,  Monitor,  2025.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has extended its research on the behaviour of genetically modified mosquitoes to more islands on Lake Victoria. The two islands where similar research will be conducted are Sselinya in Kalangala District and Koome in Mukono District. ...

Dissecting The Sterility Phenotype Of Drosophila Suzukii Males

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Evrim Ağacı,  The Pinnacle Gazette,  2025.
Groundbreaking findings on gene-edited males provide insights for pest management strategies. Researchers have made significant strides in controlling the invasive fruit pest Drosophila suzukii, commonly known as the spotted wing drosophila, utilizing innovative genetic ...

Selfish Genetic Elements and Meiotic Drive in Drosophila

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Nature Research Intelligence,  2025.
Selfish genetic elements are segments of DNA that can enhance their own transmission to the next generation, often at a cost to the organism's overall fitness. In Drosophila, or fruit flies, these elements can lead to a phenomenon known as meiotic drive, where certain alleles are ...

Gene Drive Technology Offers Hope For Malaria Vector Control

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Evrim Ağacı,  The Pinnacle Gazette,  2025.
A team of scientists has developed an innovative gene drive targeting Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, a key malaria vector in urban areas. Their strategy uses CRISPR technology to disrupt the doublesex (dsx) gene, crucial for female fertility, thereby reducing mosquito ...

Genetically Engineered Male Insects Shorten Their Mates’ Lifespans

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Sneha Khedkar,  The Scientist,  2025.
On a still night, as the air is thick with silence, the sharp, whining buzz of a mosquito shatters the calm. These blood-sucking insects that disturb people’s deep slumber are also responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria and Zika fever, which ...

‘Toxic Male Technique’ promises faster biocontrol of mosquito populations

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Macquarie University,  Phys.org,  2025.
A new biological pest control method that targets the lifespan of female insects could significantly reduce the threat of insect pests such as disease-carrying mosquitoes by offering faster and more effective results than current methods. Described in Nature Communications, the ...

Genetically modified mosquitoes could soon be released in one Australian state: everything you need to know

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Maddison Leach,  9 News,  2025.
Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever cause hundreds of thousands of deaths every year and a new venture wants to change that by introducing genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) right here in Australia. That venture is Oxitec Australia, a collaboration between the ...

Kenya Set to Introduce GMO Maize After Public Consultation Period

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Martin Olage,  Mwakilishi,  2025.
The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has completed a month-long public consultation regarding the potential market introduction of Genetically Modified (GM) maize, specifically known as BT Maize. This consultation, initiated in mid-December after an official notice on December ...

A Tiny but Mighty Helper Stops Mosquito Viruses in Their Tracks

Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga,  The Scientist,  2024.
Luciano Moreira, a vector biologist and the project lead of the World Mosquito Program in Brazil, has always been driven by solving people’s problems. As a kid, he concocted blends of house-cleaning products to eliminate common home pests; in adulthood, Moreira channeled his ...

Healthcare delivery in Africa still a big challenge, health experts warn

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KBC News,  2024.
The adoption or harnessing of emerging technologies in the healthcare system in Africa to improve healthcare delivery remains low. It is reported that while the continent forms 18% of the global population, Africa accounts for 25% of the global diseases. Though there are ...

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