Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Could Have Unintended Consequences

A new way of creating genetically modified insects could wipe out many mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria within a few years but it could also unleash potentially devastating unintended consequences, scientists have warned.

Researchers have devised a method of bypassing a fundamental barrier to the rapid spread of genes within a population. They believe that it could be used to spread malaria-resistant genes in mosquitoes to prevent transmission of disease to people.

However, it could also be used to spread harmful genes rapidly in the wild, which has led other researchers to call for the imposition of strict safety controls over such research in case of an accidental escape from a laboratory.

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