Gene Drive Technology in the News
On EAC’s GMO disharmony and little-known GM mosquito research
29025Gitura Mwaura, The New Times, 2024-03-19 13:18:15.
A meeting in Dar es Salaam in November 2022 sought to chart the legal way forward for the Target Malaria and Transmission Zero Project, as the research initiative is called.
Brazil’s record dengue surge: why a vaccine campaign is unlikely to stop it
29023Mariana Lenharo, Nature, 2024-03-19 12:55:41.
A vaccine shortage and persistent sanitation problems threaten the success of the world’s first public vaccination campaign against dengue virus.
CRISPR could eradicate horrific parasite that’s killing cattle
28993Kristin Houser, Freethink, 2024-03-11 10:19:23.
Uruguay is developing a CRISPR gene drive to eradicate the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that kills cattle in a painful, grisly fashion. Releasing it into the wild would have risks, but if it works, it could help rid South America of this horrific agricultural pest. The screwworm fly lays its eggs on living creatures — often livestock — and once they hatch, the larvae eat into the animal’s flesh for about a week, before emerging from the tunnel they created and flying away. “We know that it’s horrendously painful, because people get affected by this, and the standard of treatment is you give them morphine immediately so that surgeons can cut the things out — because it’s just that painful; it’s unbelievably agonizing,” Kevin Esvelt, a biologist at the MIT Media Lab, told the 80,000 Hours podcast in 2023. Aside from being painful, screwworm infestations of livestock are incredibly costly. In the 1950s, the US meat and dairy industries were losing an estimated $200 million per year to the pests — that’d be about $2.3 billion today. Screwworms are no longer a problem for American farmers thanks to the USDA. In 1955, it set out to eradicate the screwworm in the US by irradiating the insects’ larvae, which made adults sterile. Infertile males could then be released into infested areas to mate with females, which wouldn’t produce any offspring.
Protecting the peppers: Unlocking the potential of the sterile insect technique
28989Society of Chemical Industry, Phys.org, 2024-03-11 10:00:52.
For the first time, researchers in Canada have investigated the use of the sterile insect technique for controlling populations of the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii, an economically significant crop pest in North America. The paper, published in Pest Management Science, revealed compelling findings on the use of gamma irradiation as a sterilization technique to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of pepper weevil management worldwide. The study was a collaboration between Bruce Power, Nordion Inc., the University of Guelph, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada. A. eugenii poses a significant challenge to pepper growers across much of North America, causing millions of dollars worth of crop damage annually. The beetle larvae damage the flowers and immature fruit of capsicum plants, with infestations causing yield losses of up to 90%. Managing A. eugenii populations is particularly challenging as the development of beetle larvae takes place in the protective confines of pepper fruits. Roselyne Labbe, Greenhouse Entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada, and corresponding author of the study, explained the challenges in identifying effective strategies to manage populations of A. eugenii. "In prior research, we found that few conventional, reduced-risk, or microbial pesticides could effectively knock down adult populations of the pepper weevil on greenhouse pepper crops."
Gene Drive Systems To Control Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes Make Headway
28966Joshua Ang, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024-03-05 13:15:42.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are known vectors of several diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, which impact millions of people worldwide each year. The effectiveness of existing insecticide-based methods to control this mosquito is threatened by growing insecticide resistance, underscoring the need to develop new approaches. The advent of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing has reshaped the research and development landscape of new potential vector control tools, leading researchers to explore novel approaches, such as gene drive technologies. In the past few years, gene drive technologies have gained remarkable traction, particularly for their success in controlling major malaria mosquito vectors in laboratory settings. A gene drive is able to bias its own inheritance, facilitating the spread of a specific trait through a target population. This super-Mendelian pattern of propagation makes gene drive technology an efficient and cost-effective potential new method to control mosquitoes that transmit disease.
Revolutionizing Livestock Biosecurity: Using CRISPR Technology to Combat the New World Screwworm
28963Dr. Jessica Nelson, Medriva, 2024-03-05 13:07:55.
The New World screwworm, a persistent parasite responsible for significant damage to the global livestock industry, may soon meet its match. Researchers at Uruguay's National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) have developed a gene drive using CRISPR technology to combat this destructive pest. By manipulating the reproductive process of the screwworm fly, INIA scientists aim to cause a population crash, thereby reducing the parasite's devastating impact on the livestock industry. CRISPR gene drive technology offers a potentially more efficient and powerful solution compared to previous methods, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) used by the US. Unlike traditional techniques, CRISPR gene drives aim to spread fertility-damaging genes throughout the screwworm population, causing a significant decrease in their numbers. The process works by making female screwworms sterile. The ultimate goal is to release gene-edited male screwworm flies into the wild. These males will mate with females, passing on the gene drive and leading to a population crash of the screwworm fly. This innovative approach has shown promise in caged trials and is currently being tested further in the INIA labs.
Uruguay wants to use gene drives to eradicate devastating screwworms
28961Abdullahi Tsanni, MIT Technology Review, 2024-03-05 12:53:17.
On a warm, sunny day in Montevideo, Uruguay, the air is smogless and crisp. Inside a highly secured facility at the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) are a sophisticated gene gun, giant microscopes, and tens of thousands of gene-edited flies, their bright blue wings fluttering against the walls of their small, white, netted cages. These flies—shown to me on video by an INIA veterinarian, Alejo Menchaca—are a new weapon that may soon be unleashed against an enemy that kills cattle and costs the livestock industry millions of dollars every year: the New World screwworm, a parasite common in parts of South America and the Caribbean. When a female screwworm fly attacks cattle, it lays eggs, which hatch and turn into worm-like larvae that screw down into the host animal, feeding on flesh along their way and damaging the animal’s skin. Left untreated, the animals eventually die in excruciating agony. But Menchaca and colleagues have a plan. Using the genome-editing system CRISPR, they’ve developed what’s known as a gene drive, a type of genetic element that manipulates the reproductive process to spread farther and faster than an ordinary gene. They are about to move into the next stage of caged trials in the lab, with a view to eventually using the genetic tool to decimate the screwworm fly population. In collaboration with Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, they have received a $450,000 grant from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the research.
Modified mosquitoes may save millions more lives in Latin America
28951Marina E. Franco, Axios, 2024-02-27 18:40:46.
A program that uses genetically engineered mosquitoes in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to reduce the prevalence of diseases that can be fatal may soon serve millions more people. Why it matters: Outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, zika and yellow fever —diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito —have long hit the Americas and other tropical regions hard. Climate change has worsened the spread of these diseases, experts say, as rising temperatures favor the life cycle of the mosquitoes and their proliferation in more areas — including, increasingly, the U.S. These diseases also tend to affect impoverished regions where a lack of health care options mean mosquito bites can become deadly. Diseases such as dengue "feed on poverty and inequity, and they fuel it also," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week during an event in Brazil.
Taking the fight against disease to mosquitoes
28948Gregory Devine, Setopati, 2024-02-27 18:33:30.
In the medium term it's likely that suppression strategies involving self-limiting genetic modifications, Wolbachia infection and irradiation will be extended to a small number of our most important mosquito vectors of disease.
Biotech Mosquitoes Can Help to Regain Ground in Fight Against Malaria
28932Florence Banoba, East News, 2024-02-27 17:59:07.
In response to the recent opinion articles that ran in the National print and online media in the last couple of days (1st and 5th February, 2024), regarding the use of GMO technology as a tool in the fight against malaria, I wish to address the writer’s broad-brush dismissal of the significance of genetic modification technologies in combating malaria. It is crucial, from the outset, to clarify a fundamental distinction overlooked in the article between Gene-drive and Self-limiting technologies in addressing this global health challenge. As rightly stated in that article, gene-drive technology refers to a genetic engineering technique that aims to spread a particular gene throughout a population at an accelerated rate. The primary objective would be to either suppress a mosquito population or reduce its ability to transmit malaria. Under this method, the introduced mosquitoes are designed to stay in the environment for long. In contrast, self-limiting technology involves the introduction of genetically modified organisms which possess traits designed to limit their population growth. This technology focuses on controlling or suppressing the modified organisms themselves.
Maui ‘ground zero’ for release of billions of biopesticide lab-altered mosquitoes
28929Michael Nevradakis, LifeSite, 2024-02-27 16:57:41.
Up to 775,992,000 bacteria-infected mosquitoes could be released in Maui every week for the next 20 years, according to Hawaii Unites, an environmental advocacy group that last month lost its bid to require the state to conduct an environmental impact statement before allowing the controversial project to proceed. Hawaii Unites in May 2023 sued the state in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit in Hawaii. The group’s president and founder, Tina Lia, told The Defender: "These biopesticide lab-altered mosquitoes are already being released in East Maui. Hawaii Unites has taken the state to court seeking a ruling to require an environmental impact statement for the project and comprehensive studies of the risks". She said Hawaii Unites describes itself as “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and protection of our environment and natural resources,” with a focus on “protecting the health of Hawai‘i’s people, wildlife, and the ‘āina from the State of Hawaii’s biopesticide bacteria-infected mosquito experiment.”
Judge sides with Hawaii to block challenge to mosquito release plan
28925Candice Cheung, Courthouse News Service, 2024-02-27 16:29:17.
A planned program to save endemic Hawaiian birds from avian malaria by releasing thousands of biopesticide mosquitoes into Maui’s rainforest will go on, despite an attempt by an environmental nonprofit to block the project.First Circuit Court Judge John Tonaki ruled Tuesday in favor of the state of Hawaii, its Department of Land and Natural Resources and conservationists to block a lawsuit claiming the state agency did not complete a proper environmental evaluation of program aimed at curbing mosquito population to prevent them from spreading avian malaria.“This is a victory for our endangered forest birds who some native Hawaiians consider their ancestors,” Dawn Chang, chair of the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement. “The HEPA is an important tool that enables decisionmakers to assess environmental impacts — not the sword by which misinformation kills a project, aimed at saving native species.”
South American cities release mosquitoes to stem disease
28913Roberto González, SciDev.Net, 2024-02-20 19:48:12.
When Waldeir Barbosa da Silva explained to his family that he was going to release hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes into the open, infected with a bacterium, they were surprised. In Niterói, southeast Brazil, where da Silva lives, diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, pose a serious public health problem. However, when mosquitoes carry the bacteria Wolbachia, naturally present in many insects, their ability to transmit these viruses decreases.
Off the news: Gene-altered mosquitoes to the rescue
28902Star Advertiser, 2024-02-20 15:13:49.
A legal attempt to block deployment of genetically modified mosquitoes in a Maui forest was rejected in Circuit Court on Tuesday — cause for celebration among those hoping to save near-extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreepers. State and federal wildlife officials plan a staged release of sterile male (nonbiting) mosquitoes on the high slopes of Haleakala, crowding out breeding males to reduce the insect population. Fortunately, the challenge to the program failed: Only a very few Hawaiian honeycreepers remain, and warmer temperatures have allowed the deadly disease-carrying mosquitoes to infiltrate the birds’ only remaining island haven.
Opinion: A cautionary tale of experimenting with genetically modified mosquitoes in Uganda
28900Barbara Ntambirweki, The Independent, 2024-02-20 14:44:38.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute is pressing forward with gene drive technology which provides a way to rapidly, permanently, and genetically modify wild animals or plants. Gene drive organisms, are a genetically modified organism (GMO) designed to spread a genetic modification through entire populations of wild or farmed species, and are promoted as a ‘solution’ to pressing problems in the fields of public health, ecology and agriculture. The capacity of gene drives to spread and persist in the environment presents novel biosafety and socio-economic concerns for both people and biodiversity. Several research projects in Africa are advancing in their experiments to develop genetically modified ‘gene drive’ mosquitoes to release into the environment as a public health intervention to combat malaria and some are already releasing GMO mosquitoes similar to those touted by Oxitec. In Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda have allowed experimentation towards gene drive in their countries where some of these are under the auspices of Target Malaria – a consortium of research institutions led by laboratories based at Imperial College in the United Kingdom funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In Uganda, Target Malaria has entered in partnership with the Uganda Virus Research Institute and has commenced entomological mosquito collections from field sites around Kalangala and Mukono Districts.
Revolutionary Gene Drive Could Provide Solution for Agricultural Pest Control
28877María Alejandra Trujillo, Breaking News Network, 2024-02-13 17:35:22.
The crux of the gene drive hinges on the process of sex determination in medflies. The drive effectively converts genetic females into fertile XX males, which, unlike their female counterparts, are harmless to crops. This innovative approach presents a possibility for a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective strategy to control agricultural pests—particularly those within the same group as medflies. The study was helmed by Dr. Nikolai Windbichler and Dr. Angela Meccariello of Imperial's Department of Life Sciences. Their work adds to the progressive field of gene drives, a concept that has demonstrated efficacy in laboratory settings, especially with regards to controlling populations of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. However, no gene drives have yet been released into the wild. The success of this proof-of-concept study stands as a testament to the potential of gene drives as a tool to manage agricultural pests. Dr. Meccariello, co-leader of the research, emphasized the untapped potential of gene drives in tackling pest problems in agriculture. She believes that this breakthrough could open the door to a more sustainable and economical approach to pest control.
Otago GE Wasp Project Violates International Gene Drive Agreement
28874GE-Free NZ, Scoop, 2024-02-13 17:02:02.
Professor Dearden, Otago University, has received $11 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE) to engineer wasps using gene drive technology. He is only consulting with Māori and regulators, ignoring and side-lining the views of other concerned New Zealanders. Gene Drives using gene editing CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) technology. This genetic engineering causes a permanent modification of the organisms genome, which is passed on to all subsequent generations. Gene drives are designed to impact reproduction or kill the developing larvae. Due to the irreversibility of gene drives, any out-crossing across species could collapse the insect ecosystems affecting pollinators and food security. The approval of this gene drive application is a worldwide concern, as it overrides the decision on gene drives being considered at a global level through the UN Convention of Biodiversity (CBD). MBIE and researchers at the University of Otago have violated the agreement to work in unison with the international community. International concern has already been raised by the project.
Gene driver flies and quantum finance: News from Imperial
28872Bryony Ravate, Hayley Dunning, Imperial College London, 2024-02-13 16:54:58.
Researchers have created the first gene drive for the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), a global agricultural pest affecting food production. The team was led by Dr Nikolai Windbichler and Dr Angela Meccariello at Imperial's Department of Life Sciences, and included researchers from the University of East Anglia and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gene drives are genetic modifications that preferentially spread throughout a species, and which are designed to reduce the population. No gene drives have been released in the wild yet, but versions in malaria-carrying mosquitos have been shown to be highly effective in the lab. This success prompted the researchers to look at other pest species that could be susceptible to similar interventions. The team were able to target the process of sex determination in medflies, creating a gene drive that transforms genetic females into fertile but harmless XX males. The proof-of-concept demonstrates how gene drives can be applied to insect pests in the same group as medflies. Dr Meccariello said: “Our results demonstrate the untapped potential for gene drives to tackle agricultural pests in an environmentally friendly and economical way.”
The $11million wasp to end (hopefully) all wasps
28867Kieran Chisnall, Stuff, 2024-01-30 20:07:32.
A new project to eradicate wasps, which cost the country millions of dollars, has begun in Dunedin. The key to that $11million project would be a genetically altered wasp, capable of destroying wasps colonies from the inside. Professor Peter Dearden, Genomics Aotearoa co-director, said: “We are using this as a test case for all New Zealand pests, a prototype for what can be done in the most ethical way, the safest way, and the way that follows the science. “What we want is to develop research to make this firstly, scientifically possible, and secondly, offer a blueprint for how it can be done, if and when New Zealand decides we want to do it.” The nationwide research led by Genomics Aotearoa began with the opening of new labs in Dunedin this week. It will be in that controlled environment where researchers will make the transgenic organism - a wasp that has been genetically modified with a flaw.
New gene-editing tools may help wipe out mosquito-borne diseases
28859Greg Allen, NPR, 2024-01-30 17:05:14.
In the age-old war of human versus mosquitoes, the bugs have been winning. At least 700,000 people die every year from mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, West Nile and yellow fever. Global trade and climate change have helped disease-carrying species become established in places like Florida, California, and Texas. In parts of the U.S., dengue is now a persistent problem. Last year, for the first time in decades, Florida and Texas reported locally-acquired malaria cases. Maryland also had a case. But by using bioengineering, scientists have developed tools they believe may help control and possibly eradicate mosquitoes that carry dengue, malaria and other diseases. Andrea Leal, the head of mosquito control in the Florida Keys says, "The good news is we've got these emerging technologies that show great promise in reducing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes."
Gene editing would be helpful for pest control, report says
28836Alex Binkley, National Newswatch, 2024-01-23 18:28:10.
Ottawa-Canada needs to boost its gene editing research capacity to better advance that branch of science’s pest control potential, says a report by the Council of Canadian Academies. There is insufficient intensive research and development activity in gene-edited pest control in the country even though research capacity in related field exists, the report said. “Better alignment among Canada’s main public research funders is needed to develop the necessary personnel, and channel the correct expertise toward responsible technology development.” Gene editing research elsewhere is rapidly evolving and “contributes to an increasing variety of prospective mechanisms of action in genetic pest control, across numerous species.” Climate change will make pest issues more complex due to its potential impacts on ecosystems. That makes a risk assessment process central to decision-making in pest control that can be used to obtain valuable stakeholder and other input for prioritizing which technologies should be supported, the report said.
Mosquito makeover: Tahiti’s groundbreaking solution to disease
28823Atutahi Potaka-Dewes, Pacific Media Network, 2024-01-19 14:49:43.
Mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting such diseases as dengue, malaria, zika, chikungunya, or filariosis, causing millions of deaths worldwide. French Polynesia is taking a groundbreaking initiative to address public health concerns and demonstrate a commitment to finding environmentally friendly solutions to curb disease spread. Building on a successful decade-long pilot project on the atoll Teti’aroa, the innovative method involves the strategic release of sterilised male Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. The process sees the release of sterile males that will "contaminate" females, rendering them sterile and thereby naturally reducing the proliferation of the disease-bearing insect population. The Louis Malardé Institute's entomology laboratory says they have now developed an X-ray device that can mass-sterilise the males.
CRISPR engineered viruses could render other viruses harmless
28784Michael Le Page, New Scientist, 2023-12-29 13:14:45.
A virus genetically engineered to spread its DNA to other viruses via CRISPR gene editing has done exactly that in tests in mice. The hope is that these viruses could alter others, such as herpes, in a way that prevents them from causing symptoms. “It’s a new technology,” says team member Marius Walter at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington. “Can we bring it to people? That’s a long way ahead, we have a lot of work to do, but I think this is an exciting technology." This approach is known as a gene drive, when a bit of selfish DNA somehow manages to get passed down to a higher proportion of offspring than normal. This means gene drives can spread through a population even if they are disadvantageous.
Advancements in Gene Editing: Using CRISPR-Cas9 and Gene Drive Technology to Neutralize Viruses
28765Anonymous, News Directory 3, 2023-12-27 20:03:12.
Researchers from the US Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center recently published research results in the international academic journal “Nature” demonstrating that herpes virus type 1 (HSV-1) was neutralized using “Gene Drive” technology . Gene drive refers to a technology that changes the genes of a specific organism and affects the entire organism. The international academic journal Science said: “Scientists highly appreciate the potential of gene drive technology” and added: “It could be an opportunity to pave the way for modifying viral populations through genetic manipulation and using it as a new treatment."
Communicating Creatively About Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
28748Lorraine Gibson, Target Malaria, 2023-12-21 15:27:14.
In 2018, the Target Malaria team at Imperial College London published a landmark paper in Nature Biotechnology. The study demonstrated how gene drive mosquitoes successfully suppressed a population of wild-type malaria mosquitoes, marking a significant milestone for gene drive technology as a tool for malaria elimination. In our communications team working across Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda and the UK, we are exploring different, creative ways to explain the technology and its progress to the general public. By continually expanding our toolkit of science communications tools and embracing innovative approaches, we hope to bridge the gap between scientific advancements and the general public, in particular communities most affected by malaria, fostering understanding and support for our mission to combat malaria.
Gene drives – maybe not a silver bullet, but a bullet nonetheless
28745Jenny Leonard, New Zealand's Biological Heritage, 2023-12-20 15:26:56.
A gene drive is both a natural process and a genetic engineering technology where a gene is promoted or favoured during reproduction—instead of there being a “chance” of an offspring inheriting a gene, gene drives almost guarantee that the offspring (and subsequent offspring) will inherit that gene. The common wasp, Vespula vulgaris, is driving a lot of unwanted change in Aotearoa in the form of damaging our native ecosystems. Could genetic engineering drive country-wide eradication? A new paper uses modelling to show that eradication would probably be very difficult to achieve—but the paper also shows that a wasp gene drive could still make a significant difference in getting populations to a manageable level. In New Zealand, gene drives may be a solution for managing pests like the invasive social wasp (Vespula vulgaris). “We know we can target several genes that would stop sperm development within wasps,” says Phil Lester, a professor at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and co-lead of Novel Tools & Strategies – Invertebrates.
African scientist could wipe out malaria by editing mosquito DNA
28731Nimi Princewill, CNN, 2023-12-19 13:03:40.
Malaria is a leading cause of death in Burkina Faso, where nearly all of the West African nation’s 22 million inhabitants, especially children, are at risk of the disease, according to the World Health Organization. Malaria killed nearly 19,000 people in Burkina Faso in 2021, the most recent data from the WHO regional office for Africa showed. The disease is also one of the main causes of death in the wider African region, which shoulders the world’s largest malaria burden. Abdoulaye Diabate faced a life-threatening bout of malaria when he was just five years old. Diabate narrowly survived the mosquito-borne disease, but cousins ages three and four were not as fortunate. Diabate, who now heads medical entomology and parasitology at Burkina Faso’s Research Institute in Health Sciences, is developing an innovative technique that could potentially wipe out malaria-transmitting mosquito species by altering their genes.
To End Malaria In Africa, a Scientist From Africa Invented Gene Drive Technology.
28728Salman Ahmad, CTN News, 2023-12-19 12:41:22.
Abdoulaye Diabate, a scientist from Africa, is currently working on a groundbreaking technology called ‘gene drive’ that has the potential to eradicate malaria or the mosquitoes that cause it from the continent. Diabate, who received the prestigious 2023 Falling Walls Prize for Science and Innovation Management, is developing an ingenious technique that can eliminate female mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria by modifying their genes. Using gene drive technology, the reproduction of female mosquitoes is hindered by releasing genetically modified male mosquitoes into the environment. This approach would result in a significant reduction in the number of female mosquitoes, thereby combating malaria throughout the continent.
Gene Drive: Engineered viruses take on their own kind in a new study
28711Rizwan Choudhury, Interesting Engineering, 2023-12-18 09:27:39.
Scientists are exploring a radical idea to combat viral infections: use viruses against themselves. They are testing whether introducing modified viruses into people with the same natural viruses can spread a gene that destroys the infection. This has yet to be done successfully in animals, but a study has shown it is possible in theory. The technique uses gene drives, tools that use CRISPR, a gene editing system, to speed up gene transmission in the offspring. Gene drives have been used to alter animals like mice and mosquitoes to reduce their numbers. But a recent study showed that gene drives can also work with herpesvirus-1 (HSV-1), which causes cold sores. When mice were infected with both normal and modified herpesviruses, the gene drive changed up to 90% of the viruses, which could prevent the infection from causing symptoms. Another study achieved similar results with HSV-1 in cells in the lab.
Gene Drive Technology Unlocks Innovative Potential Solutions At The Intersection Of Climate Change And Public Health
28705Krystal Birungi, African Media Agency, 2023-12-12 17:23:52.
The inaugural ‘Day of Health’ at the UN Climate Conference (COP-28) highlighted the dramatic impact of climate change on health, diseases and in particular on malaria. Heads of State and climate experts converged in Dubai to emphasise the indisputable link between climate and health, echoing WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s statement that climate change is a pressing public health issue. As we grapple with the harsh reality of half a million lives lost annually to malaria, including a child succumbing every minute in Africa, it is imperative to integrate innovative solutions that address both the disease and its broader public health implications exacerbated by climate change.
ISAAA Inc. | Genetic Tools For Conservation and Health: What’s The Role of Gene Drives?
28634Kristine Grace N. Tome, Science Speaks, 2023-12-04 11:20:10.
ISAAA Inc., in partnership with the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research and the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC), gathered approximately 834 online participants during the webinar Genetic Tools for Conservation and Health: What's the Role of Gene Drives? held on November 16, 2023, via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. The online session is the first of the 2023 Gene Drive Webinar Series that focuses on the interests of specific countries and aims to promote a productive and balanced conversation on the benefits and risks of possible gene drive applications relevant to national priorities. The Philippines has been picked as the first country to be engaged in the webinar series. The Philippines has been at the forefront of biotechnology research and regulation in Asia for a long time and plays an important role in shaping the region’s views on novel technologies and developing expertise.
Invasive Feral Cats Could Be Wiped Out Using Genetic Modification
28632Jess Thomson, Newsweek, 2023-12-04 10:38:32.
Hordes of feral cats terrorizing native species in Australia could be combatted using a special type of genetic engineering, scientists have suggested. The cats, which came to Australia via European colonizers, regularly kill native mammals, birds, and reptiles, including woylies, quolls, and even penguins. The feral cats now number over six million, and are responsible for the extinction of at least 28 species across the country, threatening countless more. This has spurred numerous control measures to be announced, including poison, trapping, and cat curfews. "Gene drives literally 'drive' modified genes through a species by ensuring they are inherited from generation to generation, eventually resulting in the whole species having engineered genetic traits," Andrew D. Maynard, a professor of Advanced Technology Transitions at Arizona State University, told Newsweek. "It's a technique that is specific to species that mate and reproduce sexually, and works by ensuring that engineered genetic traits are inherited by every single offspring resulting from mating."
What are gene drives, and how can they help eradicate invasive species in Australia?
28563Dr. Ellen Cottingham, ABC News (Australia Broadcasting Corporation), 2023-11-29 13:52:33.
The impact of feral cats and other invasive species is felt across Australia. Not only do they threaten native species, but they can also spread diseases to humans and livestock. Invasive species are estimated to cost Australia an eye-watering $25 billion annually, while the global cost is a staggering $423 billion. Feral cats are everywhere — the nation is home to up to 6.3 million of them, and they are responsible for killing millions of native mammals, reptiles, and birds each day. Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek recently declared "war on feral cats", announcing plans involving cat curfews, desexing regulations, and caps on cat numbers in homes. But what can we do about the millions of feral cats already wreaking havoc across Australia? And what about other pests such as foxes, rabbits, cane toads, carp, pigs, deer, or goats? One technique with the potential to help fight not just cats but all invasive species is called a "gene drive".
Ghana publishes its guidelines on Genome Editing
28538Anonymous, BusinessGhana, 2023-11-28 11:06:04.
Ghana's National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has published its guidelines on Genome Editing and Gene Stacks with regards Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) joining Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, as the fourth country in Africa with the guidelines. Genome editing is an emerging and affordable biotechnology tool that has great promise to deliver high-yielding crop varieties, able to withstand various stresses such as droughts, floods, insect pests, or diseases and possessed quality traits for use as food, feed, or for processing. "Biotechnology is a fast-developing business with new trends of technologies and when the law was being passed, there was nothing like Genome editing, gene drive, or synthetic biotechnology, but we have them now."
New Techniques of Genetic Modification in Pest Control Spark Debate in Canada
28501Sandeep Kunchikor, Express Healthcare Management, 2023-11-26 09:51:07.
Scientists in Canada are urging serious discussions on the use of genetic modification as a new technique in pest control. In a recent report by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, a branch of Health Canada that regulates pesticide use, experts argue that genetic modification could become a powerful tool as older insecticides lose their effectiveness and climate change leads to new infestations. Already, such techniques are being tested to prevent mosquitoes from spreading malaria. However, the authors of the report caution that there are many unknown variables. They claim that the consequences of releasing synthetic versions of natural organisms could be harmful and permanent.
Scientific report urges debate on genetic modification to control insect pests
28490Bob Weber, CTV News, 2023-11-18 11:21:22.
Scientists are learning to turn the genetics of insect pests against themselves, altering the genome of familiar foes in ways that give farmers and doctors new ways to fight them. The burgeoning field offers fresh hope against old scourges such as malaria. And it could provide shiny new tools as familiar insecticides lose their punch and climate change shuffles the deck. But concerns buzz the new technology like a cloud of gnats. "Genetic pest-control tools could dramatically shift our relationship with the environment, not only because of their potential impact on the ecosystem of which we are a part, but also because of their challenge to the social and cultural values that shape decisions surrounding their use," says a new report from the Council of Canadian Academies.
Mosquito modification programme aiming to eliminate malaria receives US$15m
28402Hayley Dunning, Imperial College London, 2023-11-14 15:15:02.
Half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria, a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted from one person to another through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2021 alone, there were over 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths from malaria, mostly children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa. With current measures failing to halt disease transmission, new ways to control the spread of malaria are desperately needed. Transmission Zero is a global programme led by scientists at Imperial College London (Imperial) and the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) of Tanzania, in partnership with the Tanzanian National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), which aims to modify specific species of mosquitoes so that they are unable to transmit the disease.
Inside Gates Foundation’s $15M effort to release gene-hacked mosquitoes that end malaria with ‘killer sex’
28407Jona Jaupi, The U.S. Sun, 2023-11-14 10:26:29.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by parasites and poses a significant threat to nearly half of the world's population. In 2021, an estimated 247 million people contracted malaria, with a staggering 619,000 deaths, per Imperial College. Most of those deaths affected children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Because current methods for fighting malaria are falling short, innovative approaches are required – enter Transmission Zero. The program's end goal is to genetically modify specific mosquito species to make them incapable of transmitting the disease. The way this works is that the gene-modified mosquitoes get sent out into the world to breed with wild mosquitoes. The result is a new generation of mosquitoes that are born with an antimalarial modification.
What are gene drives?
28374Anonymous, MalariaGEN, 2023-11-09 09:43:47.
Among the new generation of technological tools being developed to combat malaria, there is a lot of buzz around gene drives. This is a method for genetically modifying malaria-spreading mosquitoes and ultimately reducing or replacing their populations. But how exactly do gene drives work? And how can genomic surveillance data produced by the MalariaGEN community help gene drive researchers achieve their goals safely and effectively?
Oxitec concludes GMO mosquito release phase
28361Anonymous, keysnews.com, 2023-11-08 09:35:19.
Oxitec and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District announced last week that the release phase during the third season of the FKMCD-Oxitec Mosquito Project has concluded for the 2023 season. Mosquito population monitoring will continue for the next several weeks.9
Male-killing virus leads to more female moths
28365Anonymous, Nature, 2023-11-07 09:51:08.
Keisuke Nagamine at Minami Kyushu University in Miyazaki, Japan, and his colleagues have identified another virus that kills male embryos of the tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura. Female moths infected with the virus produced an equal number of male and female embryos, but almost no male embryos survived. The virus doesn’t share male-killing genes with other known male-killing viruses or bacteria, suggesting that these mechanisms evolved independently.
Success of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in fighting dengue may be underestimated
28353B. Wampler, Notre Dame News, 2023-11-06 11:04:57.
Now, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have conducted an analysis of the World Mosquito Program’s randomized control trial of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Indonesia, looking at how excluding transmission dynamics impacted the original interpretation of the trial’s results. “Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for evaluating the efficacy of any medical or public health intervention. That is very difficult for vector interventions against dengue because incidence of the disease can be somewhat unpredictable and sporadic, requiring very large-scale trials,” said Alex Perkins, associate professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame and senior author on the study. The study published in BMJ Global Health used mathematical models to analyze dengue virus transmission during the Indonesia trial. They explored three biases, or sources of potential error, that the trial is subject to: human movement, mosquito movement and the combined transmission dynamics between human and mosquito movement.
Research breakthrough in genetic biocontrol striving to transform pest management: Centre for Invasive Species Solutions
28332ARR News, Australian Rural and Regional News, 2023-11-02 13:31:54.
A potential new non-lethal and ethical approach to control invasive mammal pests was showcased at a briefing held at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide on Tuesday 31 October. Hosted by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and the University of Adelaide, the briefing introduced guests to a world-first breakthrough in gene drive technology. The University of Adelaide discovery is the first time a new genetic tool has been identified that is able to induce female infertility into a mouse population, offering a non-lethal way to control mice and rats. Importantly, these findings could be transferred to control other pests, such as rabbits and feral cats.
Bill Gates Talks Gene Drives, mRNA, and U.S.$40m in Science Funding
28314N. Mlambo, allAfrica, 2023-10-31 08:32:46.
In 2003, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Grand Challenges initiative in order to find scientific solutions to these health challenges. Initially, the initiative focused on 14 scientific challenges including focusing on creating effective single-dose vaccines that can be used soon after birth, discovering drugs and delivery systems that minimise the likelihood of drug-resistant micro-organisms, creating therapies that can cure latent infection, and developing needle-free delivery systems. "We started Grand Challenges with two goals. In a narrow sense, we wanted to spur specific advances we thought could lead to breakthroughs. In 2003, we listed ... priorities like creating therapies that could cure latent TB infection - and supported researchers who had exciting ideas in those areas. In a broader sense, we hoped to inspire more brilliant scientists to share big ideas about transforming health in low-income countries. We hoped to create a scientific community that was supported to sustain R&D (Research and Development) for the benefit of billions of people who had been neglected," said co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates during his opening remarks at the Grand Challenges meeting held in Dakar, Senegal.
Genetic tools for conservation and health: What’s the Role of Gene Drive?
28313ISAAA, Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Viet Nam, 2023-10-31 08:26:25.
The potential uses and impacts of gene drive technologies have garnered increasing interest at the international and national levels across the world. As part of the effort to contribute to an informed debate around gene drive technologies, the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research and the ISAAA are organizing a new Gene Drive Webinar Series. The first webinar titled Genetic Tools For Conservation and Health: What's The Role of Gene Drives? is scheduled on November 16, 2023, 2 PM GMT+8. The registration is now open to all interested participants. The series is focused on specific countries and aims to promote a productive and balanced conversation on the benefits and risks of possible gene drive applications relevant to national priorities. Kicking off this series is the Philippines, a country that has consistently led biotechnology research and regulation in Asia, and is instrumental in shaping the region's perspectives on innovative technologies and scientific expertise. This first webinar will acquaint attendees with the fundamentals of gene drive and its significance for global health and conservation, presenting some of its prevailing applications under consideration.
Dengue rates drop after release of modified mosquitoes in Colombia
28270M. Lenharo, Nature, 2023-10-27 07:52:00.
Three cities in Colombia saw a dramatic fall in the incidence of dengue in the years following the introduction of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia, a bacterium that prevents the insect from transmitting viruses. In neighbourhoods where the Wolbachia mosquitoes were well established, dengue incidence dropped by 94–97%. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were released by the World Mosquito Program (WMP), a non-profit organization that has been conducting similar experiments in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam, among other countries. In Colombia, the modified mosquitoes were released in one of the country’s most populous regions. “That’s the largest continuous releases of Wolbachia [mosquitoes] globally so far, in terms of the population covered and the area,” says Katie Anders, an epidemiologist at the WMP and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Anders presented the results on 22 October at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Chicago, Illinois.
How mosquito-controlling bacteria might also enhance insect fertility
28212Public Library of Science, Phys Org, 2023-10-24 13:51:56.
A new study reveals biological mechanisms by which a specific strain of bacteria in the Wolbachia genus might enhance the fertility of the insects it infects—with potentially important implications for mosquito-control strategies. Shelbi Russell of the University of California Santa Cruz, US, and colleagues reported these findings in the open access journal PLOS Biology on October 24th. Different strains of Wolbachia bacteria naturally infect a number of different animals worldwide, such as mosquitos, butterflies, and fruit flies. Wolbachia can manipulate the fertility of their hosts through a specific biological mechanism that aids the spread of Wolbachia within host populations. In recent years, people have harnessed that mechanism in strategies to deliberately infect mosquitos with a specific Wolbachia strain, reducing targeted mosquito populations and thereby potentially reducing the spread of human viruses carried by mosquitos, such as dengue or Zika.
How Genetically Modified Mosquitos can end malaria in Africa – Dr. Santos
28165S. Akioye, The Star, 2023-10-23 12:15:51.
With over 200 million cases every year and nearly 700,000 deaths, Malaria is currently one of Africa’s most dreaded sicknesses. While there have been efforts at finding different drugs for treatment, scientists are working on an innovative solution using genetically modified mosquitoes to eradicate malaria spreading mosquitoes in Africa. In this interview with Dr. Michael Santos of GeneConvene Global Collaborative, SEUN AKIOYE finds out how it will work.
How to fight insects that transmit diseases to people without harming those who cannot?
28157Nation World News Desk, Nation World, 2023-10-20 11:55:16.
One way to avoid this severe environmental impact is to specifically control the population of species that cause problems. This can be done chemically by releasing hormones into the environment that prevent passage to the adult stage, or pheromones that make them believe that a beautiful insect is waiting for them ready for sex, when in fact they fell in the trap of death. The problem with these methods is that sometimes the required molecules are very expensive and not always specific to what we want. A more effective strategy is to sterilize the population of male insects with radioactivity. In nature, these males mate with females, but cannot produce children. This technique has been used for a long time with reasonable results, although it is not 100% effective and the use of radioactivity means the appearance of mutations and it may happen (unlikely) that some give some development for the insect, and a recurring problem for us.However, genetic engineering offers us help. CRISPR/Cas9 is a technology that allows us to make specific changes in a specific area of the genome of any living organism. We can give it a twist and, instead of applying this technique to the genome of an insect by making a specific modification, what we do is modify an insect so that its genome has everything it needs to activate CRISPR/Cas9. time and cause sterility. It’s like hiding in your genome a complete CRISPR/Cas9 kit and the instructions to change a specific gene to create sterility. What is the advantage? If we only disperse the sterile males, those that are not sterile (sterilization is never 100% and we have to compete with the native population) will continue to reproduce, and in a few generations the effect will disappear.
This Burkinabe researcher wants his groundbreaking work to wipe out malaria, altogether
28154B. Orucho and M. Ndengar, The African Mirror, 2023-10-10 11:49:04.
ABDOULAYE Diabaté and his team are betting on gene technology to protect children like his own from malaria. Along with a clutch of brand-new vaccines, the technology could help the world end malaria for good.
