Scientists and Researchers at the University of Arizona say they've genetically engineered a "malaria-proof" mosquito that would not spread the deadly disease.

The researchers at the U-of-A introduced a gene into mosquitoes that affected the insect's gut, meaning the malaria parasite could not develop.

They report the advance, which also reduced the insects' lifespan, in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

They say that the ultimate goal is to introduce malaria-resistant mosquitoes into the environment.

In the study the researchers altered a gene that codes for a "signalling molecule". This molecule, a protein, enables the mosquito's cells to communicate with each other, and is crucial for parasite development inside the mosquito. The genetic tweak artificially increased its production, disrupting the whole process, and also shortened the insect's lifespan. The team was able to add a fluorescent tag to the gene, to ensure that it had been successfully "expressed" by the mosquito larvae. 

"They have tested it on the most harmful of the malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum," he told BBC News. "It is another step on the journey towards potentially assisting malaria control through GM mosquito release."

But one Doctor pointed out that the this work had not been carried out specifically on the Anopheles gambiae mosquito. "That is the major vector of malaria in Africa where the disease is most prevalent," he explained.

(Continue reading this at  The BBC)