ORLANDO, FLA. — What some people view as a flaw in a new genetic-engineering tool might actually be a safety feature, a study suggests.
CRISPR/Cas9 gene drives, as the new tools are called, are molecular cut-and-paste machines that can break regular rules of inheritance and get passed to more than 50 percent of offspring (SN: 12/12/15, p. 16). The rapid spread of engineered genes through a population may allow researchers to make mosquitoes unable to spread malaria or other diseases, to sterilize the insects, or to clear pests or invasive species out of places where they are not wanted (SN: 12/26/15, p. 6; SN Online: 12/7/15).