A new breed of ‘flightless’ mosquitoes created in the laboratory, could help cut back the spread of dengue fever, suggests a new research.
The researchers at University of California Irvine (UCI) in collaboration with University of Oxford and Oxitec Ltd. created a new breed of mosquitoes by disrupting the development of the male insect’s wing muscle, mating it with wild female insect which rendered the offspring incapable of flying and spreading the disease.
Vector biologist, Anthony James, professor of microbiology, molecular genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry at UCI, said, “Current dengue control methods are not sufficiently effective, and new ones are urgently needed.”
