News Archive - Tom Vasich

UC Researchers Pioneer More Effective Method of Blocking Malaria Transmission in Mosquitoes

UC scientists have made a major advance in the use of genetic technologies to control the transmission of malaria parasites. They employed a strategy known as population modification, which uses a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission in mosquitoes.

Biologists Create Malaria-Blocking Mosquitoes

Using a groundbreaking gene editing technique, biologists at UC San Diego, working in collaboration with biologists at UC Irvine, have created a strain of mosquitoes capable of rapidly introducing malaria-blocking genes into a mosquito population through its progeny, ultimately eliminating the insects’ ability to transmit the disease to humans.