Mosquitoes being genetically modified to kill the malaria parasite they carry
Scientists are genetically modifying mosquitoes in the hope of stopping the spread of malaria.
The technique, which uses genes taken from the honeybee and the African clawed frog, blocks normal growth of the malaria parasite inside the mosquito.
It would mean a mosquito bite in regions of the world where the disease is endemic no longer carried a potential death sentence.
Malaria is spread by the Anopheles mosquito. Pic: AP
The World Health Organisation says there were almost 600,000 deaths from malaria in 2023, three quarters of them in children under five.
Dr Nikolai Windbichler, a geneticist at Imperial College London, said the GM mosquitoes could work where other attempts at malaria control have failed.
“The advantage is that nobody needs to do anything,” he said.
“For example, with a bed net you need to impregnate it with insecticide and put it up when you go to sleep. It requires people to do something to be effective.
“But this technology is purely genetic, so no one will have to actually do anything for it to be beneficial.”
Sky News was allowed into the insectary at Imperial College, where thousands of mosquitoes are being bred as part of the groundbreaking Transmission Zero project.
The mosquitoes are kept in cages at the Imperial College laboratory
Step one in the process of creating the GM mosquito is injecting the insect egg with genes from other species that make proteins that are toxic to the malaria parasite.
They slow the normal development of the parasite inside the stomach of the mosquito.
When the female insect bites someone to draw blood – which she needs to make eggs – the parasite is too immature to infect them and cause disease.
In a second crucial step, researchers use another genetic technique to ensure all the offspring of the GM mosquitoes carry the same anti-malaria trait.
An image of gene-modified mosquito larvae
Dr Windbichler said the technique meant only a relatively small number of modified mosquitoes would need to be released into the wild for the whole population to effectively become malaria resistant.
“The trait is self-propagating,” he said.
“Over time it will get more and more common in the population.
“It will also spread geographically so that eventually every malaria transmitting mosquito in Africa could carry this.”
Dr Nikolai Windbichler says other attempts at mosquito control have largely failed
The research is being done in collaboration with scientists in Tanzania and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
There are now two vaccines against malaria, but they are expensive and only moderately effective. Drugs are also available, but the parasite is developing resistance to some of them.
The genetic technique, on the other hand, is relatively cheap. After the initial lab work, the GM mosquitoes effectively do all the work.
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Professor George Christophides, an infectious diseases specialist at Imperial College, said it’s likely to be many years before the GM mosquitoes would be released into the wild.
“We have to prove in the lab that it works, and it works in the way we want it to work,” he said.
“And then we have to prove that it is safe and that it doesn’t cause any unintentional harm, both to people and the environment.
“It has to be accepted by local communities and the regulators before we test them in the field.”
Donald Trump has said that his 28-point peace plan for Ukraine is “by far” not the “final offer”, ahead of crisis talks in Geneva.
Meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, European and other Western leaders scrambled to respond to the US president’s demand for Ukraine to accept the plan drawn up by the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
In a joint statement on Saturday, they said the plan announced on Friday could serve as a basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but required “additional work”.
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How Ukraine peace plan came about
Follow the latest on the Ukraine peace plan
As a result, a meeting has been hastily convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday, where national security advisers from the E3 – France, Britain and Germany – will meet EU, US and Ukrainian officials for further discussions.
Ahead of the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to his nation that Ukrainian representatives at the talks “know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out” another invasion.
“Real peace is always based on security and justice,” the Ukrainian leader added.
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PM: ‘More to do’ on US Ukraine peace plan
The 28-point peace plan closely resembles the list of demands repeatedly stated by the Kremlin since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago and if adopted, would see Ukraine cede territory to Russia – and cut the size of its military.
Mr Trump has said he wants a response from Ukraine by Thursday, while suggesting an extension could be possible.
On Saturday, Mr Trump told reporters outside the White House that the plan was not the “final offer” when asked.
He said: “We’d like to get the peace, it should’ve happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should’ve never happened. If I was president, it would have never happened. We’re trying to get it ended. One way or another, we have to get it ended.”
His secretary of state Marco Rubio insisted that the peace proposal was authored by the US, despite what a handful of senators have alleged.
“It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine,” he said.
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The 28-point peace plan explained
Leaders have sought to balance praise for President Trump’s attempt to end the war with recognition that some terms in his proposal are unpalatable for Kyiv.
“There are many things that cannot simply be an American proposal, which requires broader consultation,” French
President Emmanuel Macron said on the sidelines of the G20, adding that an agreement had to allow for peace for Ukrainians and “security for all Europeans”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined the importance to Europe of supporting Ukraine.
“If Ukraine loses this war and possibly collapses, it will have an impact on European politics as a whole, on the entire European continent. And that is why we are so committed to this issue,” he said.
“There is currently an opportunity to end this war, but we are still quite a long way from a good outcome for everyone.”
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters in Johannesburg: “We are concerned about [caps on military], because it’s fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire.”
He said the proposal “requires additional work”, adding: “And that’s why there’s been the agreement that in Geneva tomorrow [Sunday], you’ll have senior US personnel, you’ll have European NSAs [national security advisers], including the UK NSA, and obviously Ukrainians there to work further on the draft.”
Sir Keir also spoke to Mr Trump, relaying discussions held at G20 to the US leader, according to a Downing Street spokesperson, who added that the two leaders would speak again on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir, who has defended his decision to fly to the G20 days before a difficult budget, said the role of the G20 is “critical at this moment”.
“The G20 has worked together before to fix fundamental problems in the global economy. We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges,” he said.
“I’d like to see us come together around a five-point plan for growth that leaves no one behind.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz at the G20 summit. Pic: PA
The US, however, is boycotting the talks.
The Trump administration made its opposition to South Africa’s G20 agenda clear earlier this year when the country started holding meetings ahead of the summit. South Africa gets to set the agenda as the country holding the rotating G20 presidency.
G20 leaders broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit – despite opposition from the US.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders’ declaration was adopted unanimously in Johannesburg.
The White House later accused South Africa of refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.
Pic: AP
Read more:
Analysis: Europe scrambles at G20 over Ukraine peace plane
G20 lands in South Africa: But who feels forgotten?
The G20 bloc was formed in 1999 as a bridge between rich and poor nations to confront global financial crises.
While it often operates in the shadow of the powerful Group of Seven nations, G20 members represent around 85% of the world’s economy, 75% of international trade and more than half the global population.
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