Mutant mosquitoes resist malaria.

‘Pivotal role’

Scientists have been searching for new ways to fight malaria.

The University of California team believe their GM mosquito could play a pivotal role – breeding resistant offspring to replace endemic, malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

They took a type of mosquito found in India – Anopheles stephensi – on which to experiment.

Dr Anthony James and his team showed that they could give the insect new DNA code to make it a poor host for the malaria parasite.

The DNA, which codes for antibodies that combat the parasite, was inherited by almost 100% of the mosquito offspring and across three generations.