Keywords: genetically engineered mosquitoes
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Inside Gates Foundation’s $15M effort to release gene-hacked mosquitoes that end malaria with ‘killer sex’Jona Jaupi, The U.S. Sun, 2023.
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 ... |
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Buzzing breakthrough: genetic engineering gives mosquito control an upgradeSivasubbu, Sridhar Scaria, Vinod, The Hindu, 2023.
Throughout human history, mosquitoes have constantly buzzed in the background of human existence, irritating us with their incessant bites and occasionally wreaking havoc by transmitting deadly diseases. The earliest known mosquitoes from the fossil record date back at least 70 ... |
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Single-cell profiling of Anopheles gambiae spermatogenesis defines the onset of meiotic silencing and premeiotic overexpression of the X chromosomeN. Page, C. Taxiarchi, D. Tonge, J. Kuburic, E. Chesters, A. Kriezis, K. Kyrou, L. Game, T. Nolan and R. Galizi, Commun Biol, 6:850. 2023.
Understanding development and genetic regulation in the Anopheles gambiae germline is essential to engineer effective genetic control strategies targeting this malaria mosquito vector. These include targeting the germline to induce sterility or using regulatory sequences to drive ... |
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British super mosquitoes being deployed to wipe out malaria from the planetJ. Lawton, Daily Star, 2023.
The Brit-made mosquitoes are all male and carry a special gene to prevent female offspring from surviving into adulthood.Only females bite and spread malaria. Released into the wild Oxitec’s genetically-modified males mate with wild females. All the female offspring then die. ... |
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Genetically modified Brit mosquitoes could stamp out malaria with Bill Gates’ backingK. Williams, Mirror, 2023.
British super mosquitoes could be deployed worldwide to eradicate malaria. Billionaire Bill Gates is backing the British effort to send the country’s mosquitoes across the world in an effort to stamp out the deadly disease. This would work because the super mozzies, created by ... |
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Is Bill Gates Releasing Millions of GMO Mosquitoes?!A. Wong, Tech ARP, 2023.
Claim : Bill Gates Is Releasing Millions Of GMO Mosquitoes! People are sharing a World Mosquito Program video as evidence that Bill Gates is manufacturing and releasing 30 million genetically-mosquitoes every week, from his mosquito factory in Colombia. |
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New self-sexing Aedes aegypti strain eliminates barriers to scalable and sustainable vector control for governments and communities in dengue-prone environmentsS. A. M. Spinner, Z. H. Barnes, A. M. Puinean, P. Gray, T. Dafa’alla, C. E. Phillips, C. Nascimento de Souza, T. F. Frazon, K. Ercit, A. Collado, N. Naish, E. Sulston, G. C. Ll. Phillips, K. K. Greene, M. Poletto, B. D. Sperry, S. A. Warner, N. R. Rose, G, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10. 2022.
For more than 60 years, efforts to develop mating-based mosquito control technologies have largely failed to produce solutions that are both effective and scalable, keeping them out of reach of most governments and communities in disease-impacted regions globally. High pest ... |
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Can a bold new plan to stop mosquitoes catch on?L. J. Young, Popular Science, 2022.
In the northwestern outskirts of Visalia in Tulare County, California, Bryan Ruiz drives down a familiar dirt road that cuts through farmland. He comes up to an irrigation pipe that’s created a “pretty nasty” situation—a small patch of vegetation and algae-covered water ... |
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Importation of the non gene drive genetically modified male bias mosquito strain into Burkina FasoA. Diabate, Target Malaria, 2022.
On March 16 and 21, the team at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Target Malaria’s partner institution in Burkina Faso, received packages containing live genetically modified mosquito eggs from Italy. The National Biosafety Agency (ANB) officers were at ... |
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Self-eliminating Genes Tested on Disease-carrying MosquitoesM. Taylor, Laboratory Equipment, 2022.
There’s good reason why CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is not allowed at the germline. While international commissions are working hard to make this a possibility, potential unknown effects further down the ancestry line raise concerns about the process. The insect equivalent of ... |
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Brit firm sparks fury after ‘releasing genetically modified mosquitoes’ into wildC. Lawrence-Jones, Daily Star, 2022.
A British company has sparked fury after releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild that critics say could produce new strains of super-mozzies. UK-based Oxitec say they've hacked the insects' genetic make up and hope it will ultimately kill off all-female offspring ... |
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The Financialisation of Malaria in Africa: Burkina Faso, rogue capital & GM/gene drive mosquitoesS. Mentz-Lagrange and S. Swanepoel, African Centre for Biodiversity, 2022.
This paper seeks to understand the financialisation of malaria as a vehicle for rogue capital in a context of a weakened state (through capture, corruption and coups) and the power that limits effective interventions. It shows how malaria, along with other diseases, is ... |
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Biotech firm announces results from first US trial of genetically modified mosquitoE. Waltz, Nature, 2022.
Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States. The results, according to the biotechnology firm running the experiment, are positive. But larger tests are still needed to determine whether the insects can achieve the ... |
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Potential Adverse Effects of GE Mosquitoes UnknownB. Giuffre, The Epoch Times, 2022.
“Safe and sustainable.” That’s what Oxitec, a British biological pest control company, calls its genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) mosquito pesticide product. The company claims its product is nontoxic to humans and animals and won’t harm beneficial ... |
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Regulation of genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes as a public health tool: a public health ethics analysisZ. Meghani, Globalization and Health, 18:21. 2022.
In recent years, genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes have been proposed as a public health measure against the high incidence of mosquito-borne diseases among the poor in regions of the global South. While uncertainties as well as risks for humans and ecosystems are entailed ... |
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Mark-release-recapture experiment in Burkina Faso demonstrates reduced fitness and dispersal of genetically-modified sterile malaria mosquitoesF. A. Yao, A.-A. Millogo, P. S. Epopa, A. North, F. Noulin, K. Dao, M. Drabo, C. Guissou, S. Kekele, M. Namountougou, R. K. Ouedraogo, L. Pare, N. Barry, R. Sanou, H. Wandaogo, R. K. Dabire, A. McKemey, F. Tripet and A. Diabaté, Nature Communications, 13:796. 2022.
Every year, malaria kills approximately 405,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of them children under the age of five years. In many countries, progress in malaria control has been threatened by the rapid spread of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides. Novel ... |
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Laboratory Biosafety in Handling Genetically Modified MosquitoesJ. Charles, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
One of the novel approaches in controlling vector-borne diseases is to release genetically modified mosquitoes in nature. Trial studies are done in different phases by the researches, both in the laboratory and in the fields. Before a GM mosquito is validated to be ready for ... |
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Safety Assessment of Novel Genetic Technologies for Vector Control: National and International PerspectivesV. Ahuja, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Novel genetic technologies provide an alternative approach for control of vectors particularly those carrying deadly pathogens. Genetic control technologies aim to either suppress target populations or modify the vector by introducing a heritable factor that reduces or blocks ... |
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Measuring Public Attitudes to Releases of Transgenic Mosquitoes for Disease Control, with Special Reference to Dengue and MalariaL. A. De Las Llagas and M. S. T. Gunigundo, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Since the advent of DDT in public health and agriculture, science leaped forward with revolutionary technology such as gene drive or editing, thus making it possible to develop alternative approaches to address vector-borne diseases. However, their utilization and sustenance in ... |
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Experiences and Outcomes from a Worldwide Training Programme on Genetically Modified Vectors (GMVs) Related Biosafety for Human Health and the EnvironmentB. K. Tyagi, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Partial to virtual lack of any impact on control of vectors of human diseases, especially mosquitoes, warranted urgent search for new alternate technologies which will be safe, economical and environment-friendly, on one hand, and integrate with other tools and methodologies of ... |
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Safe Application of Genetically Modified Mosquito (GMM) to Combat Dengue and Chikungunya Depends on Socioeconomic Status and Social Acceptance in the Developing Countries: A Comprehensive AnalysisM. N. Islam, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
The emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases are a serious public health problem throughout the world. It has been observed that more than 100 countries and approximately half of the world’s population are at risk on vector-borne diseases (VBDs). The global burden of the ... |
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The economic value of genetically engineered mosquitoes as a Malaria control strategy depends on local transmission ratesK. Lacy, K. A. Schaefer, D. P. Scheitrum and E. Y. Klein, Biotechnology Journal, 10. 2021.
This paper assesses the economic value of genetically engineered (GE) Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes as a malaria control strategy. We use an epidemiological-economic model of malaria transmission to evaluate this technology for a range of village-level transmission settings. In ... |
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New Arthropod Containment Recommendations Provide Essential Guidance for Safety of Gene Drive ResearchS. James and D. O’Brochta, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, tpmd211148. 2021.
Gene drive technologies have not yet been field tested, however, there are no data on the possible environmental or health effects of releasing gene drive–modified organisms. For this reason, there have been widespread calls for additional guidance on risk assessment and ... |
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Genome editing and its applications for insect pest control: Curse or blessing?Hacker, I. , and Schetelig, M. F, AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Development and Field Application, 2021.
Gene and genome editing are described as cutting-edge research tools with the potential to tackle urgent global challenges in the management of agricultural pests and human disease vectors such as mosquitoes. The field is defined by the chances and challenges to interlink the ... |
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Wolbachia cifB induces cytoplasmic incompatibility in the malaria mosquito vectorK. L. Adams, D. G. Abernathy, B. C. Willett, E. K. Selland, M. A. Itoe and F. Catteruccia, Nature Microbiology, 6:1575-1582. 2021.
Wolbachia, a maternally inherited intracellular bacterial species, can manipulate host insect reproduction by cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which results in embryo lethality in crosses between infected males and uninfected females. CI is encoded by two prophage genes, cifA ... |
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Fighting Dengue Virus with Biological WeaponsZ. Ebrahim, Inter Press Service, 2021.
For the last 11 years, he has been trying to convince both the provincial and central governments of making “billions of mosquitoes in labs”, which when released in the wild, could reduce the spread of dengue virus, but with little luck. The released genetically engineered ... |
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Containment Practices for Arthropods Modified with Engineered Transgenes Capable of Gene Drive Addendum 1 to the Arthropod Containment Guidelines, Version 3.2American Committee of Medical Entomology, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2021.
Responsible conduct of research is a cornerstone of rigorous scientific discovery. Institutional committees, independent advisory panels, and expert steering groups are among the frameworks in academia meant to provide guidance and assurances that research activities do not ... |
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Small-scale release of non-gene drive mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: from engagement implementation to assessment, a learning journeyL. Pare Toe, N. Barry, A. D. Ky, S. Kekele, W. Meda, K. Bayala, M. Drabo, D. Thizy and A. Diabate, Malaria Journal, 20:395. 2021.
This study provides a review of engagement activities relevant to field trials on non-gene drive genetically-modified mosquitoes as well as an assessment framework-using both qualitative and quantitative studies as well as an audit procedure. The latter was implemented to ... |
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Genome engineering in insects for the control of vector borne diseasesV. E. Hillary and S. A. Ceasar, Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, 179:197-223. 2021.
Insects cause many vector-borne infectious diseases and have become a major threat to human health. Although many control measures are undertaken, some insects are resistant to it, exacerbated by environmental changes which is a major challenge for control measures. Genetic ... |
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Stakeholders call for adoption of emerging technologies to fight MalariaC. Muchira, KBC, 2021.
Health stakeholders are calling for adoption of innovative and emerging technologies such as gene drive to change the focus of the war on malaria from just controlling its spread to actual elimination. The African Institute for Development Policy and other stakeholders have urged ... |
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Genetically Modified Mosquitoes — What’s The Real Story?SPW Staff, Southeast Product Weekly, 2021.
You’ve heard about the genetically modified mutant mosquitoes being released in the Florida Keys — but what exactly is going on, and how, and why? Basically, researchers in parts of the Florida Keys are releasing male mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to produce ... |
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Mosquito transgenesis for malaria controlS. Dong, Y. Dong, M. L. Simões and G. Dimopoulos, Trends in Parasitology, 2021.
Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases. Because of the ineffectiveness of current malaria-control methods, several novel mosquito vector-based control strategies have been proposed to supplement existing control strategies. Mosquito transgenesis and gene drive have emerged as ... |
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EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Amendment to Experimental Use Permit for Genetically Engineered MosquitoesPCT Staff, Pest Control Technology, 2021.
EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed amendment to extend and expand an approved Experimental Use Permit (EUP). The EUP currently allows Oxitec Ltd. to field test the use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as a way to reduce mosquito populations in Florida ... |
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UF/IFAS Researchers Explain Science Behind Genetically Modified MosquitoesPCT Staff, Pest Control Technology, 2021.
South Florida residents seeking science-based information about genetically modified mosquitoes can access a new, online resource from University of Florida scientists at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.“ Genetically Modified Mosquitoes” is the latest ... |
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Mobilizing Mutant Mosquitoes to Fight MalariaD. Mclaughlin and J. Recht, United Nations Foundation, 2021.
World Mosquito Day today marks the 1897 discovery by Sir Ronald Ross that female Anopheles mosquitoes spread malaria. Since that breakthrough, the world has fought this deadly disease through scientific research and new technology. While astounding progress has been made against ... |
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Genetically Modified MosquitoesE. P. Caragata, Y. Lee and E. A. Buckner, UF IFAS Extension Service, 2021.
Genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes are controversial, partly because of misinformation. This publication provides science-based information about GM mosquitoes to the public and anyone involved in mosquito control. It explains what GM mosquitoes are and why they are being ... |
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Oxitec and MosquitoMate in the United States: lessons for the future of gene drive mosquito controlC. E. Schairer, J. Najera, A. A. James, O. S. Akbari and C. S. Bloss, Pathogens and Global Health, 2021.
ABSTRACTIn response to growing concerns regarding mosquito-borne diseases, scientists are developing novel systems of vector control. Early examples include Oxitec?s OX513A genetically-engineered mosquito and MosquitoMate?s Wolbachia-infected mosquito, and systems using ... |
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CRISPR/Cas-9 mediated knock-in by homology dependent repair in the West Nile Virus vector Culex quinquefasciatus SayD.-K. Purusothaman, L. Shackleford, M. A. E. Anderson, T. Harvey-Samuel and L. Alphey, Scientific Reports, 11:14964. 2021.
Culex quinquefasciatus Say is a mosquito distributed in both tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a night-active, opportunistic blood-feeder and vectors many animal and human diseases, including West Nile Virus and avian malaria. Current vector control methods ... |
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A new tool in the global fight against malariaS. Laux, Brighter World, 2021.
McMaster researchers with the Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation (IEPI) have played a key role in developing updated international guidelines that will inform research and development on genetically modified mosquitoes – an initiative that could significantly affect ... |
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West African countries working together to develop framework to regulate genetically engineered mosquitos: Target MalariaAnonymous, Global News, 2021.
Abdoulaye Diabaté, principal investigator for Target Malaria, says West African countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Benin are working with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to develop a pan-West African framework to regulate gene drive mosquitos. |
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Fighting disease: How are genetically engineered mosquitoes regulated?A. Julie, Global News, 2021.
Mosquitoes have long been associated with the spread of diseases like malaria, dengue fever and the Zika virus. But scientists around the world have been exploring the possibility that mosquitoes could also be key to slowing the spread of disease. By genetically altering the DNA ... |
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Bill Gates Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in Florida? Here’s the Whole StoryM. Dapcevich, Snopes, 2021.
Bill Gates is not himself releasing mosquitoes into the wild. However, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did award grants that funded biotech company Oxitec's work to develop genetically modified mosquitoes that may help reduce the spread of malaria and other mosquito-borne ... |
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Educating the Public on Genetically Modified MosquitoesBuckner, Eva A., UF - IFAS, 2020.
In May 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Oxitec’s Experimental Use Permit to carry out pilot projects in the Florida Keys. Oxitec is a biotechnology company founded in 2002 out of Oxford University in the United Kingdom. They will be collaborating ... |
