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Expert Presents Recommendations for Gene Drive Based on GE Crop Experience in Africa |
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Researchers and regulators can build from past experiences of genetically engineered (GE) crops deployment in Africa to improve public acceptance towards gene drive tools to fight malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases in the region. Gene drives are also a product of genetic engineering, and Africa was home to 95% of malaria cases in 2020, according to WHO.
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Researchers in Burkina Faso Working on Genetic Solution to Curb Malaria |
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Malaria is a deadly disease with approximately 627,000 deaths recorded in 2020 alone. The World Health Organization reports that in 2020, 95 percent of the world's malaria cases and 96 percent of malaria deaths occurred in Africa. Now, Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium, is working with Burkina Faso's Research Institute for Science and Health (IRSS, in French) to develop and share new, cost-effective, and sustainable genetic technologies to fight malaria.
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Gene Drive Mosquitoes to Help Malaria Fight in Africa |
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The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2020, an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 malaria deaths were recorded worldwide. In Kenya, nearly 6.9 million cases of malaria and about 742 deaths were confirmed by the Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey (KMIS) in 2020. Although the number of reported cases has declined, the disease is still one of the main health issues in Kenya.
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Double-tap Gene Drive Overcomes Resistance Alleles |
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A research team at the University of California San Diego reported a "double-tap" strategy, which could improve gene drive efficiency by recycling resistance alleles. Their findings are reported in Nature Communications.
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