Gene drive debate must include voices from Africa, elsewhere
By Richard Nchabi Kamwi,
STAT
| 06. 15. 2016
As the spread of mosquito-borne diseases has captured headlines in recent months, so too has a novel approach to mosquito control that might one day stop them: gene drive. Although it is in early development, this promising genetic technique could help end the transmission of many deadly pathogens, including malaria.
Gene drives let modifications made to a single organism spread rapidly through the entire population by making sure that targeted genes are passed on to nearly all its offspring. In theory, it would be possible to use gene drives to create mosquitoes that produce sterile offspring, vastly reducing the number that can transmit malaria or other viruses.
...
While vitally important, these conversations have been missing something invaluable: the perspectives of representatives from malaria-affected countries, largely in South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia.
Continue reading on STAT
Image via Wikimedia
Related Articles
Reproductive rights have been a flashpoint in national politics for decades, with the stakes surging after the Supreme Court shredded the right to an abortion. In the current presidential campaign, the battle over abortion has swelled and morphed to encompass in vitro fertilization (IVF), which has now moved rapidly from widely accepted to partisan hot button.
This dramatic shift was highlighted by the February decision of the Alabama Supreme Court that granted personhood rights to frozen IVF embryos, signaling that...
By Sara Moretto, The Varsity | 09.22.2024
It was 2020. I was wrapping up grade nine science with a solid 60 per cent, hoping that if anyone saw my failed tests in the recycling bin, it would contribute to an air of mystery about me. This reason...
By Don Sapatkin, Managed Healthcare Executive | 09.20.2024
Gene therapy comes with the expectation that it will “cure” an expanding number of genetic disorders. If you’ve never wondered – and even if you have -- what that word actually means, four Dutch researchers have a surprise in store...
By Heidi Ledford, Nature | 09.17.2024
For most of her life, Genesis Jones’s daily routine revolved around her illness, the painful blood disorder known as sickle-cell disease. Each time she left the house, she ran through a mental checklist: did she have her pain medications...