ARMING mosquitoes with the venom of a scorpion sounds like a terrible idea.
But researchers in Mexico say malaria could be stopped in its tracks by
genetically engineered mosquitoes that produce a scorpion toxin in their
gut.
For years, scientists have dreamed of displacing wild mosquitoes with
genetically modified insects that cannot carry the malaria parasite
Plasmodium (New Scientist, 5 August 1995, p 36). Two weeks ago,
researchers in Europe announced the first successful attempt at genetically
modifying the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito. Now, in experiments
on a different insect, Lourival Possani and his colleagues at the National
Autonomous University…
