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    Home > Biochemistry News > Biotechnology News > Target Malaria project: Up to 10,000 genetically modified mosquitoes in Burkina Faso, Africa.

    Target Malaria project: Up to 10,000 genetically modified mosquitoes in Burkina Faso, Africa.

    • Last Update: 2020-08-08
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    "Almost all of the released mosquitoes are males, and probably less than 1 percent of the mosquitoes are females, and female mosquitoes are the only species that bites humans.
    " researchers from three African countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Uganda, recently announced that the Burkina Faso government had approved their release of genetically modified mosquitoes sometime this year or next.
    this is a key step in a broader effort to eradicate malaria in the region using bioengineering technology.
    scientists hope to release genetically modified mosquitoes this month, the first time in Africa that genetically modified animals have been released into the wild.
    While these particular mosquitoes will not have any mutations associated with malaria transmission, researchers hope their release and efforts to help achieve this goal will help raise awareness of the study among regulators and locals, as well as trust in the technology.
    scientists will provide more information about future releases. Scientists
    three African countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Uganda, are laying the groundwork for the eventual release of "gene-driven" mosquitoes.
    the mosquitoes will carry a mutant gene that can significantly reduce mosquito populations significantly and quickly.
    genetically modified mosquitoes have been released in places such as Brazil and the Cayman Islands, although "gene-driven" animals have never been released in the wild.
    in Africa, the success of the project depends not just on genetic engineering.
    also, people living in areas where mosquitoes are released must agree that researchers must genetically modify mosquitoes in their laboratories, and regulators must accept the new technology.
    these mosquitoes, which are about to be released, are a stress test of the entire system. Philip Wilkhoff, head of malaria at the bill and melinda Gates Foundation,
    , said: "All the other parts we see are just as important, but the plan is carried out in sequence. The National Biosecurity Administration of Burkina Faso approved the release of up to 10,000 genetically modified mosquitoes on August 10, said Delphine Thizy, director of stakeholder engagement at the target Malaria project,
    .
    project Target Malaria coordinates research teams from the three African countries, as well as researchers from the UK and Italy.
    The Government of Burkina Faso recently announced the decision.
    unlike "gene-driven" mosquitoes, which do not intend to have a lasting impact on insect populations.
    Burkina Faso's lead researcher, Abdoulaye Diabate, said they had a mutation called "sterile males" that would allow the male mosquitoes released to reproduce.
    almost all of the released mosquitoes are male, and perhaps less than 1% of them are females, the only species that bites humans. Even if the mosquitoes bite people, they will not deliver any genetically modified substances,
    Diabat said.
    said the organization will release all genetically modified mosquitoes that are also weaker than natural mosquitoes, so they should be extinct within a few months.
    scientists plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes sometime this month in the village of Bana, in the western part of the country, near a research laboratory where scientists work.
    six leaders of the village signed the project in May 2018.
    , said residents of Bana village and those living in two other nearby villages had been informed of the government's latest decision. Lea Pare, who led the team in Burkina Faso
    , said few residents of Bana were concerned about the project and her team worked to address the scientific issues behind the study, including whether "sterile male" mosquitoes would somehow pass on the infertility symptoms to humans.
    her team even brought in linguists to work with the village residents to develop a standard set of scientific phrase vocabulary in the local language Dioula.
    previously, Dioula had no words like "gene."
    .
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