gene drive

Biotech company Oxitec has released its genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida, with the aim of suppressing disease-carrying wild mosquito populations in the region. The company had previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and Malaysia, reporting that

Mosquitoes are not only small animals that are particularly annoying on summer nights. They are also dangerous vectors of disease and as such are the source of several hundred million cases of serious infections worldwide each year. Insecticides seem to be in short supply because

The mastery of CRISPR, this overpowering tool of genetic manipulation, is making progress every day, leading us into increasingly worrying territories. American scientists announce that they have succeeded for the first time in modifying the hereditary traits of a mammal. Mice have been treated with

Malaria, Zika, chikungunya... are terrible scourges. Caused by mosquitoes that all the affected countries intend to eradicate. Researchers have long been examining chemical (insecticides), physical (radiation), transgenic solutions... Nothing seems to be effective enough next to a bludgeoning weapon: genetic forcing. It is a

Protéger la diversité. Telle est l’ambition de la Conférence des parties de la Convention sur la diversité biologiques qui se tient à Cancun du 2 au 17 décembre. Alors que les chiffres attestant de la 6e extinction sont dramatiques – la moitié des espèces de vertébrés décimées depuis quarante ans

Changer les règles de la génétique. Tel est le pouvoir de la technique dite « gene drive » (ou forçage génétique) qui permet de propager un caractère à 100% parmi les descendants (au lieu de 50%). Cette « ingénierie massue » intéresse les responsables de santé publique confrontés aux moustiques