Modified Mosquitoes May Be Anti-Malaria Allies

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090421-world-malaria-day_2.html

Research is being done to try to create genetically modified mosquitoes, with immune systems that have pumped-up malaria-killing abilities. The key would be to find a genetic drive mechanism—some factor that would give the new, malaria-fighting genes a selective advantage and help them spread quickly through wild mosquito populations via breeding. Another option would be to develop antibodies that can fight the parasites' early, mosquito-dwelling forms—and "feed" the antibodies to the insects via human blood. If we vaccinate humans with antibodies that target mosquito-stage malaria, those antibodies could be passed on to the mosquitoes when they feed on treated human blood. The problem right now is that the work is being done using a model parasite—a version of malaria adapted to rodents, rather than humans—and laboratory mosquitoes, which are often genetically different from their wild cousins. Studies done this way haven’t always reflected what happens in nature.