An interesting story. Most of us probably don't live where there is dengue fever, but it's a pretty awful disease. It is spread by mosquitos. I was expecting that the "hack" would involve CRISPR/CAS-9 or gene drive, but it's actually something else entirely.
'Miraculous' mosquito hack cuts dengue by 77%
'Miraculous' mosquito hack cuts dengue by 77%
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They used mosquitoes infected with "miraculous" bacteria that reduce the insect's ability to spread dengue. |
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The trial used mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria. One of the researchers, Dr Katie Anders, describes them as "naturally miraculous". Wolbachia doesn't harm the mosquito, but it camps out in the same parts of its body that the dengue virus needs to get into. The bacteria compete for resources and make it much harder for dengue virus to replicate, so the mosquito is less likely to cause an infection when it bites again. |
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3vbANp1
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