Gene Drives: A New Tool for Combating Disease
Rewriting Nature's Code: Can Gene Drives Cure Malaria and Beyond? Imagine a world where diseases like malaria are eradicated, not by medicine or vaccines, but by altering the very DNA of the insects that carry them. This ambitious vision is being explored through gene drives, a revolutionary technology with the potential to reshape our relationship with disease. Gene drives work by hijacking the natural process of inheritance. Unlike traditional genes, which have a 50/50 chance of being passed down to offspring, gene drives ensure that their modified version becomes dominant within a population. Think of it as a self-replicating genetic code that rapidly spreads through generations, eventually transforming the entire species. While this sounds like science fiction, researchers are making...