Happy News

Unless you want to find a justification for ending global capitalism of course.

A few weeks ago I reported on how malaria deaths, the single greatest threat that we think will meet us from a warmer planet, are already on a rapid retreat – with a decrease by one-third in Africa over the last decade. Today I learned that scientists may be close to rolling out mosquito-specific genetic modifications that enable males to mate with females (the carriers of malaria) and then prevent them from having offspring. The benefit of this modification is that it is species specific, so is not like soaking entire ecosystems with the insecticides that were the major concern of Carson and other ecologists.

This would be wonderful news for the million-plus people that currently die every year from malaria exposure, and perhaps even lays the groundwork for dealing with other debilitating mosquito-borne diseases.

Read more at The Unbroken Window