News
GM Mosquito Slashes Dengue Vectors
The release of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes could help reduce the numbers of dengue-transmitting wild mosquitoes, although it is unlikely to eliminate them entirely, according to a study.
Dengue fever is the world’s fastest spreading tropical disease, according to a WHO report released recently: every year it infects around 50 million people and it represents a “pandemic threat”.
Further trials are however needed to see if GM insect release also leads to dengue reduction according to scidev.net.
The suppression of dengue through releasing GM versions of the Aedes aegypti mosquito — the vector for dengue fever — might soon become possible, with early tests already showing success in Brazil and the Cayman islands.
But before the wide-scale release of transgenic mosquitoes can take place, national regulatory bodies are likely to seek additional evidence that proves such a release will work in natural habitats.
This is where detailed spatial models can help, says the new modeling study, which was published in PLOS One last month .
Laboratory experiments, field tests and even general mathematical models are not sufficient to account for various environmental factors that may affect the success of a large-scale GM mosquito release, the study says.
So the researchers developed a biologically detailed model that tracks the development of GM mosquitoes in individual breeding sites, and used it to simulate the release of such mosquitoes in Iquitos, Peru.
The simulation was made using a strain of GM mosquitoes, with an inserted gene that prevents female mosquitoes from flying, and therefore from mating or biting, meaning that the insects die soon after birth.
Male mosquitoes that carry such a transgene can be released in control programmers. They pass the transgene on to offspring, of which the biting females die, while the surviving males mate and transmit the transgene to another generation, carrying the suppression effect through multiple generations.
The researchers found that a number of factors boosted the campaign’s success.
These included: releasing mosquitoes uniformly rather than at random sites; treating the wild populations with pesticides to reduce their numbers before the GM mosquito release; and releasing GM strains that have several independent transgenes inserted.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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