Selfish genes could help destroy mosquitoes’ ability to carry malaria.

What’s the News: Many scientists have played with the idea of creating a genetically modified mosquito that won’t transmit malaria, which kills about 850,000 people a year, and releasing it into the wild. But in the face of the millions of mosquitoes out there that do ferry malaria around, how would the trait spread fast enough to make a difference?

Now, scientists have developed a way to cause a “selfish” gene to spread to more than half of a mosquito population over just a few generations, suggesting a method to quickly and broadly disrupt genes required for carrying malaria.

What’s the Context:

One of the main ways scientists are hoping to spread malaria resistance is by harnessing the endless self-promotion of selfish genes, which make copies of themselves throughout a genome.
The team used a selfish gene that insinuates itself into the genome of all of a mosquito’s offspring, rather than the usual half; in essence, it makes sure it’s present on both chromosomes, not just one. This means it can spread especially quickly.
If it could take a gene bearing malaria resistance along with it, or, in its constant quest to insert ...