In Brazil, the government is taking a new approach to killing diseases. Instead of creating vaccines that prevent the disease, they are attempting to kill all the mosquitos carrying the disease called dengue fever. Dengue fever's symptoms are like the flu symptoms, except they can be deadly.
To kill all the mosquitos, the scientists are making "genetically modified" male mosquitos themselves. These mosquitos have two different genes than regular mosquitos. They have a tracker, which allows the scientists to track their process, and a gene that makes a protein that breaks down the develpoment of the mosquito. This makes it so the development of dengue cannot start. These two extra genes are also passed down to the males offspring.
Learn More at:
http://www.dogonews.com/2014/5/5/brazil-approves-use-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-combat-dengue-fever
To kill all the mosquitos, the scientists are making "genetically modified" male mosquitos themselves. These mosquitos have two different genes than regular mosquitos. They have a tracker, which allows the scientists to track their process, and a gene that makes a protein that breaks down the develpoment of the mosquito. This makes it so the development of dengue cannot start. These two extra genes are also passed down to the males offspring.
Learn More at:
http://www.dogonews.com/2014/5/5/brazil-approves-use-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-combat-dengue-fever