Novel system uses CRISPR to replace one molecule and block parasites that cause malaria infection.
Novel system uses CRISPR to replace one molecule and block parasites that cause malaria infection.
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 because mosquitoes have adapted resistance to insecticides and the parasites within mosquitoes that cause malaria have become resistant to drugs. These setbacks have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which impeded ongoing anti-malarial efforts.
Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley and the University of São Paulo have developed a new method that genetically blocks mosquitoes from transmitting malaria. The study was published July 23, 2025 in the journal Nature.
Read more: University of California – San Diego
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