A new study by Macquarie University researchers has suggested that the toxic male technique could be used to address the prevalence of mosquito-borne illness. The scientists, which genetically ...

The "toxic male technique" aims to breed mosquitoes that express venomous proteins in their semen, killing off females after mating. Female mosquitoes are targeted because only they bite and drink ...

The idea behind it is that male mosquitoes do not bite humans, and thus do not transmit the disease that can harm humans but are looking to mate with female ones for reproduction. By making the ...

But for mosquitoes, it's much more simple. Mating occurs in midair for just a few seconds. All it takes to win over a male is the sound of a female's beating wings. So, scientists were stunned to ...

GENETICALLY engineered "toxic male" mosquitoes could help kill off disease-spreading females. Scientists say the gene-hacked male insects can cull female numbers by mating with venomous semen.

Tonny Owalla, a researcher at Med Biotech Laboratories Kampala, Uganda, who was not involved in the study, believes engineering male mosquitoes to reduce the population of female malaria carriers ...

A new biological pest control method that targets the lifespan of female insects could significantly reduce the threat of insect pests such as disease-carrying mosquitoes by offering faster and ...

The research team hasn't yet tried this on mosquitoes. However, TMT tests on fruit flies demonstrated female flies' lifespans were shortened by 37–64%, compared to those mated with unmodified males.

The new genetic biocontrol approach, known as the toxic male technique (TMT), involves ... “By targeting the female mosquitoes themselves rather than their offspring, TMT is the first biocontrol ...

Until now, most "modified mosquito ... create male young or stop them from producing offspring entirely. But this new research shows that "toxic males" that shorten the lifespan of female ...