African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic ... - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 14 – Does it Matter:We can live without it. And if a few hundred kids die aweek, well, that creates more room in our crowdedclassrooms, doesn’t it?☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻GM Mosquito Could FightMalaria - StudyDaily MonitorMarch 21, 2007AgenciesA genetically modified (GM) strain of malaria resistantmosquito has been created that is better able to survivethan disease-carrying insects.It gives new impetus to one strategy for controlling thedisease: introduce the GM insects into wild populationsin the hope that they will take over.The insect carries a gene that prevents infection by themalaria parasite.Details of the work by a US team appear inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesjournal.In the laboratory, equal numbers of geneticallymodified and ordinary “wild-type” mosquitoes wereallowed to feed on malaria-infected mice.As they reproduced, more of the GM or transgenic,mosquitoes survived. After nine generations, 70% ofthe insects belonged to the malaria-resistant strain.The scientists also inserted the gene for greenfluorescent protein (GFP) into the transgenicmosquitoes, which made their eyes glow green.This helped the researchers to easily count thetransgenic and non-transgenic insects.Dr Mauro Marrelli and his colleague from JohnHopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote inPNAS: “To our knowledge, no-one has previouslyreported a demonstration that transgenic mosquitoescan exhibit a fitness advantage over non-transgenic.”The modified mosquitoes had a higher survival rate andlaid more eggs.☻☻☻☻☻☻Mosquito Bacteria Identified inMalaria BattleMay 16, 2007Daily MonitorReuters, RomeScientists in Italy say they have identified a potentialweapon against malaria living inside the blood-suckingmosquitoes that spread the disease – their internal bacteria.Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease used by a parasite, killsat least a million people annually. Most of the victims areyoung children in sub-Saharan Africa.With attempts to completely eradicate mosquitoes or createa vaccine so far unsuccessful, the Italian scientists set out tofind any bacteria that lived symbiotically inside the pests.Such bacterial could potentially be genetically altered laterto attack the malaria parasite when it reaches the mosquito,said Daniele Daffonchio at the Universita degli Studi diMilano, one of the five Italian universities behind theresearch.In the study, published in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of science on Monday, the team said it identifiedone candidate – a bacteria called Asaia, which is foundthroughout the mosquito’s body.That includes the mosquito’s gut and saliva gland as well asits reproductive organs, meaning that the altered bacteriacould spread to mosquito offspring.“Instead of spraying chemical or biological pesticides, youcould use this symbiotic bacteria that is passed on,”Daffonchio said. “You don’t have to spray every year.”Daffoncio said research into modifying bacteria like Asaiawas being conducted to battle the deadly Chagas disease.Malaria has become resistant to some drugs, and work on avaccine has been slow.☻☻☻☻☻☻-15- Traditional African Clinic July/August 2007