Gene Drive in the News

A curated collection of articles from the popular press

Are we winning the war on cane toads?

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Tom Gurn,  Particle,  2025.
In 1935, a species known as the giant neotropical toad (Rhinella marina) was introduced to Australia. Scientists hoped these amphibians would control native cane beetles, but cane toads quickly colonised the country and had no discernible impact on beetle populations. Many ...

Target Malaria activities suspended in Burkina Faso

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Target Malaria,  Target Malaria,  2025.
The National Biosafety Agency (ANB) and the National Environmental Assessment Agency (ANEVE) responded favourably in July 2025 to the authorisation request submitted by the Target Malaria Burkina Faso team based at the Institute of Health Sciences Research (IRSS) to conduct ...

Burkina Faso says no to Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitoes

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Chinedu Okafor and BI Africa Contributor,  Business Insider Africa,  2025.
In a statement published on Friday, officials urged Target Malaria, the initiative's principal NGO, to halt "all activities" in the nation. “All samples will be destroyed according to a strict protocol,” Samuel Pare, chief official at the higher education and research ...

EPA assessing risk of releasing genetically engineered mosquitoes

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Gary West,  Capital Press,  2025.
The Environmental Protection Agency has convened a scientific panel to help assess whether genetically engineered mosquitoes could pose a risk to humans. In a paper released Aug. 21, the EPA said that as science advances it expects more proposals to control mosquitoes by ...

AUDA-NEPAD Delegation visits Target Malaria at the Uganda Virus Research Institute

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Richard Linga and Christopher Maiso,  Target Malaria,  2025.
Target Malaria Uganda was honored to host delegates from African member states at the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The delegates were taking part in a benchmarking visit during the East African Regional Engagement on Biosafety and Environmental Regulation for Malaria ...

Tanzania’s bold step toward malaria elimination

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Guardian Correspondent,  IPP Media,  2025.
It is both mind-boggling and frustrating that an insect with an average lifespan of just two weeks can cause so much sickness and even deaths. Today, on World Mosquito Day, 20th August, the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) honours Sir Ronald Ross, whose landmark discovery in 1897 ...

The buzz stops here

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Bill Gates,  Gates Notes,  2025.
I've been working on malaria for over two decades. I’ve talked with researchers in labs and parents who’ve lost children to a mosquito bite. I’ve seen promising new tools and surprising setbacks. But I’ve rarely been as excited about a new innovation as I am about this ...

How biotech helps Florida Keys prevent mosquito-borne diseases

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Janine Stanwood,  Local 10,  2025.
Biologists with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) are releasing lab-modified mosquitoes twice a week in the Middle Keys. It’s part of a pilot program to reduce the population and help stop people from getting bitten. “They’re male Aedes aegypti,” said Dr. ...

CRISPR Mosquitoes That Can’t Bite

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Science Techniz,  2025.
Scientists have used CRISPR gene editing to alter female mosquitoes so that their proboscis — the needle-like mouthpart used to pierce skin — develops like a male’s. The consequence is simple and profound: modified females can no longer pierce skin and therefore cannot ...

Millions of genetically modified insects have been released in Brazil, but why didn’t anyone tell you about this before?

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Noel Budeguer,  Click Petroleo e Gas,  2025.
Few people realize, but Brazil is one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to biological pest control. Instead of relying solely on poisons and traps, Brazilian researchers are investing in technological solutions that, at first glance, seem like the stuff ...

Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped by drone over islands in Hawaii. Here’s why

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Nell Lewis,  CNN,  2025.
In June, dozens of biodegradable pods fell from the sky over the forests of Hawaii. Each one, delivered by drone, contained about 1,000 mosquitoes. These weren’t just any mosquitoes — they were non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes carrying a common bacterium that results in ...

Vector Control District Plans Experimental Mosquito Control Program

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Contributing Editor,  MyNewsLA.com,  2025.
Batches of irradiated male mosquitoes are slated for release Wednesday in Lake Elsinore with the goal of pairing the modified insects with as many females as possible to kill off the overall mosquito population, under an experimental program that apparently hasn’t generated ...

Lethal malaria parasite’s weaknesses revealed

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Nature,  553. 2025.
A sweeping genomic analysis of the most deadly malaria parasite has revealed targets for more resilient drugs against the pathogen. The parasite Plasmodium falciparum has evolved resistance to every licensed drug. To aid the search for compounds that present higher barriers to ...

A genetic tweak could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria

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Jonathan Lambert,  NPR,  2025.
Each year, 263 million people get malaria. But from the parasite's perspective, infecting humans is harder than you might think, and requires completing an epic journey within the tiny body of a mosquito. First, the mosquito must suck the blood of an individual infected with ...

Genetic tweak in mosquitoes blocks malaria transmission without affecting insect health

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University of California - San Diego,  Phys.org,  2025.
Mosquitoes kill more people each year than any other animal. In 2023, the blood-sucking insects infected a reported 263 million people with malaria, leading to nearly 600,000 deaths, 80% of which were children. Recent efforts to block the transmission of malaria have been stalled ...

Genetic discovery advances insect pest control worldwide

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IAEA,  Phys.org,  2025.
An international research team led by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and the Joint FAO/IAEA Center of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has identified the gene responsible for a temperature-sensitive lethality (tsl) phenotype in the Mediterranean fruit fly, ...

The goal of eliminating malaria by 2030 is in jeopardy

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African Media Agency,  African Newspage,  2025.
Africa could see 554,000 additional malaria deaths due to climate change, unless urgent action is taken. The goal of eliminating malaria by 2030 is in jeopardy, as climate change, population growth, and funding shortfalls converge to reverse hard-won gains over the past decade. ...

Create legal path for gene drive mosquitoes, experts say

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Samwel Doe Ouma,  The Star,  2025.
As Africa continues to shoulder the global burden of malaria, scientists and policy experts say gene drive technology could offer a groundbreaking solution. But without clear regulatory frameworks and strong community engagement, its deployment could be delayed, risking further ...

Rollins presses ahead with latest initiative on New World screwworm

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HPJ staff,  High Plains Journal,  2025.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on June 18 announced an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm fly dispersal facility in south Texas and a five-pronged plan to enhance the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ability to detect, control and eliminate the pest. In a ...

Strengthening gene drive research in Africa through engagement, regulation, and regional cooperation

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Dickson W. Lwetoijera,  Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research,  2025.
On the sidelines of this year’s World Health Assembly, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel exploring the role of genomics in public health. The event, supported by the Science Summit, brought together researchers, regulators, and policymakers to examine how genomic ...

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