A groundbreaking but controversial new gene-editing technology is accelerating a path to eradicate malaria. The work, published in Nature Biotechnology was a study at Imperial College London. The team engineered genetic changes in a common breed of malaria-transmitting mosquito that could cause its population to plummet to levels low enough to stop malaria from spreading. The report came following similar research in southern California that showed how they had altered a different breed of mosquito to resist the malaria parasite. The new mosquito could spread the new trait through the population. Both teams achieved their results using Crispr/Cas9, a powerful new technology that has transformed genetic engineering. by allowing scientists to cut and paste genes with precision. Crispr/Cas9 can also be used to build “gene drives,” a sequence of DNA that ensures the new traits are inherited and spread quickly. The technology is being explored for uses from editing genes that cause human diseases such as cancer, to reversing insects resistance to pesticide. Kevin Esvelt of Harvard University called it a remarkable advance. In 2014 he proposed the use of Crispr/Cas9 gene drives to spread genetic traits through wild populations. The potential uses of the technology have also raised serious ethical questions.
展开▼
