A female mosquito cannot tell if the male that she has mated
with is fertile or 'spermless' and unable to fertilise her eggs,
according to a new study from scientists at Imperial College
London. The research, published today in the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, could help scientists in
their mission to prevent the spread of malaria by interfering
with the mosquitoes' ability to reproduce. Malaria is a
debilitating disease that affects more than 300 million people
every year, and kills nearly 800,000 annually. In Africa, a
child dies of malaria about every 45 seconds. Public health
experts are working towards the eradication of malaria, but
there is a recognised need for better and lower cost tools to
achieve the eradication goal. The new study focuses on Anopheles
gambiae, the species of mosquito primarily responsible for the
transmission of malaria in Africa. Today's results lend support
to the idea that in the future it will be possible to control
the size of the malaria-carrying