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6A the university daily kansan
news
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thursday, april 29, 2004
Insect study may yield malaria solution
By Joshua Kendall
jkendell@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Genetically modified mosquitoes that are unable to transmit malaria give researchers hope to turn the largest disease carriers into disease fighters.
Malaria, a disease that kills more than one million people per year, has no immediate cure, so researchers are turning to new approaches.
Researchers have proposed to control malaria by releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild that are resistant to the disease.
The hope is that the resistant mosquitoes will breed and spread throughout the wild populations and effectively halt the transmission of malaria.
Greg Burg, assistant director of undergraduate biology, said that scientists do not understand the mechanisms of malaria in insects enough to tackle the genetic aspects directly, but the research provided a starting point.
"On paper it is a phenomenal idea, but there are a huge number of roadblocks," Burg said.
The plan faces two major problems, Burg said. First, no reliable way exists to push the genes through the mosquito populations. Second, certain populations of mosquitoes cannot interbreed.
Out of the hundreds of mosquito species only 70 are potential malaria carriers, according to scientists at Virginia Tech.
Burg said that this variance made finding a malaria-resistant gene that would be passed through generations difficult.
"The idea is that there is some genetic bases for species that transmit malaria more effectively." Burg said, "and if we can uncover that then it's a possibility to manipulate that risk."
A sizable amount of research focuses primarily on tracking how genes are inherited from generation to generation before scientists consider inserting a malaria-resistant gene, Burg said.
This is an inventive approach to fighting malaria because the disease is targeted-not the carriers.
Mosquitoes would not be eliminated, Burg said, which primarily had been the course of action against such insect-borne diseases such as malaria.
Traditionally medical entomology—the study of insect-borne diseases in humans and livestock proposed killing off the host insect
rather than the diseases, said George Byers, professor emeritus in biological sciences.
In the past swamps were drained in some places and a thin layer of oil was sprayed on standing water to effectively smother the mosquito larvae.
"Scientists targeted the insects," Byers said, "because they had no idea how to get to the micro-organisms."
Malaria was once an epidemic in the United States in the early 1900s. Scientists plan to implement this research to eradicate the disease. Burg said that without mosquitoes being carriers of the disease, malaria would disappear completely.
"The mosquito that carries malaria is still here and probably in your back yard," Burg said.
-Edited by Ashley Arnold
SEATING: For giving up seats students get rec center expansion
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rather than having them sit in the "nosebleed" section.
They gain 243 seats in sections L, N and C, to the sides of tunnels entering the court.
The agreement increases students' first tier seating total by 201 seats.
But they lose 42 seats in section T, above Kansas' bench.
Student Senate and the KUAC did not make this decision without first consulting six Allen Fieldhouse campers about seating changes.
Andy Wymore, Leawood senior and camper, looked at the future seating plan.
He said he thought that the seating plan would make the
student section more unified. This unification may even help KU win more home games, he said.
"We'll maybe even beat Richmond or Arizona if we have a louder student section," Wymore said.
Perkins is even more excited about the renovations to the rec center.
center. "I think it's great," Perkins said of the improvements to the center. "It's going to affect a lot of students."
dents.
The give and take of seats allows for an equal share in benefits. Wvmore said.
"It's a win-win situation for both KU students and KUAC," Wymore said.
— Edited by Henry C. Jackson
>>Adventure
BREAKING THE SILENCE SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION WEEK
Come listen to and discuss issues about sexual assault, gender issues, and relationships with some of KU's experts!
Sexual Assault Forum ~ April 29,7pm Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
An interesting and informative look at the issues of gender and violence featuring:
Dr. Dennis Dailey Professor, School of Social Welfare
Dr. Dennis Dailey Professor, School of Social Work Dr. Charlene Muehlenhard Professor, Psychology and Women's Studies departments
Sarah Jane Russell from the Ga Du Gi SafeCenter (formerly RVSS) Kathy Rose-Mockry of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center
KU WAVE Working Against Violence Everywhere
Co-sponsored by Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center and Student Senate
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