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Caught by the gen i e

Caught by the gen i e scientists have checked the bite of the mosquito. They have successfully inserted into the anopheles mosquitoes an artificial gene that renders the insects incapable of transmitting the malaria parasite. Preliminary findings of this experiment, conducted by researchers from the Ohio-based Case Western Reserve University, suggest that such genetically engineered mosquitoes can help eradicate the deadly disease. "Our experiments have proved a much-discussed principle. By spreading the gene among wild mosquitoes, we can control malaria,' says Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, the lead researcher.

A mosquito ingests the malaria parasite plasmodium when it sucks the blood of a person infected with malaria. The parasite then moves from the mosquito's gut into its saliva. The saliva containing the parasite is then transmitted to the next person the mosquito bites. This way between 300

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