What is genetic engineering?
Genetic engineering is the method of changing the genes of living things. Genes are small information-carrying units in an organism. They are the building blocks of DNA, which is found in the cells of all living things.
Genetic engineering is a method used by scientists to combine DNA parts from different organisms and then create something like a plant or animal. organism; organism; Any living thing.; Noun
There are various uses for genetic engineering. It can be used to create vaccines and other organisms. Mosquitoes have recently been genetically engineered to kill their own kind.
Oh wow! What has been done?
A new study says that efforts to kill disease-carrying insects are succeeding. Mosquitoes have been genetically modified to kill other mosquitoes. The Aedes aegypti mosquito spreads various diseases and is the most dangerous mosquito for humans.
In Indaiatuba, Brazil, an effort is being made to kill these mosquitoes before they spread diseases. Genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been created to kill their own kind.
How was this made possible?
The modified mosquitoes carry a gene that prevents female offspring from surviving. This is important because females are the only ones who bite and spread disease.
The females mate with the modified males. The gene present in the modified male mosquitoes stops the female offspring from reaching adulthood and they die. The male offspring survives and passes this gene to more male mosquitoes.
This research reveals that the mosquito populations were reduced by an average of 88% and in some cases up to 96% (excellent!!).
What did we learn from this article?
We learned how science can be used to improve people's lives. The spread of various diseases can be stopped by using similar genetically engineered mosquitoes. This can help poor countries around the world where such diseases are common.
Do you think genetically engineered mosquitoes should be used in India too? Please tell us in the comments section.
