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The GeneConvene Global Collaborative advances best practices and informed decision making for development of genetic biocontrol technologies to improve public health.
GeneConvene offers technical information, advice, training, and coordination for research on gene drive and other genetic biocontrol technologies – technologies that use genetic variants of a target species, like a disease-transmitting mosquito, to control its undesirable impacts.
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Genetic Biocontrol as a Tool to Fight Malaria
The concept of using genetic biocontrol to prevent malaria transmission by mosquitoes is over 80 years old. The idea is to create or find a genetic variation that creates a desired effect, like reducing the mosquito population or making mosquitoes unable to transmit malaria. When mosquitoes with this trait mate with wild mosquitoes, malaria transmission can be reduced. Gene drive is a family of genetic biocontrol approaches where the genetic variation persists in the wild population, and in some cases can spread beyond the area where it is introduced. Gene drive is recognized as a potentially powerful tool to help control malaria.
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The Challenge of Malaria and Other Mosquito-Borne Diseases
Efforts to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases save hundreds of thousands of lives every year, but the tools and resources available are not sufficient to protect everyone. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2021 there were 247 million cases of malaria and 619,000 deaths attributable to the disease, most of which were children under 5. More than half of the world’s population lives in areas where mosquitoes carry viruses with epidemic potential. Given the extent of the human suffering and financial hardship these diseases cause, there is an urgent need to evaluate new prevention tools.
The Role of GeneConvene
Genetic biocontrol has been used on disease-transmitting mosquitoes for over 60 years, but scientific advances in the past 20 years have dramatically improved the ability of researchers to engineer new genetic biocontrol approaches, including gene drives. GeneConvene was created to support informed decision making on the open scientific, regulatory, and policy questions raised by these new technologies.
Social Feed
We are happy to share the opportunity for African biosciences professionals to learn about #geneediting in this short course organized with
@UdsmOfficial
and @uru_group, led by
@MaedaBiotech
and @BrianBTarimo. Learn more and apply by June 14 here: https://academy.geneconvenevi.org/courses/gene-editing-a-short-course-for-science-professionals/.
GeneConvene celebrates Scott O’Neill, CEO of The World Mosquito Program (WMP), named to the inaugural #TIME100 Health list. WMP’s Wolbachia technology offers essential insights into other #geneticbiocontrol approaches, including those for #malaria. https://time.com/6962869/scott-oneill/
@FNIH_Org
Malaria has a disproportionate impact on women and girls, as this http://Africa.com piece articulates. It is important to develop new tools to control malaria, like area-wide genetic biocontrol, that protect everyone in the location that they are used. https://africa.com/malaria-weve-barely-scratched-the-surface/
#Malaria #WorldMalariaDay #Equity #GeneDrive #GeneticBiocontrol
@FNIH_Org
Everyone has a fundamental human right to share in the benefits of scientific advancement. We need global solidarity around that human right to address challenges like malaria. #WorldMalariaDay
@WHO