--- description: The malaria parasite infected 198 million people in 2013, according to the World Health Organization title: Researchers Say They've Created Malaria-Resistant Mosquitoes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt066b3e550181ec15/69887289f887dcfa6ce93762/gettyimages-1392899701.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Gene-Engineered Mosquitoes Can't Spread Malaria, Say Researchers by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 8:01 AM CUT  Aedes aegypti Aedes aegyptiJoao Paulo Burini—Flickr RF/Getty Images by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 8:01 AM CUT Researchers in California say they have genetically engineered mosquitoes that cannot be infected with the malaria parasite — and they’ve done it in a way that virtually guarantees the trait will spread quickly in a population. They used a new technique called gene editing, one that allows for the precise placement of new DNA so that it has just the desired effects. And the particular gene editing technique they used, called CRISPR, causes the new trait to spread rapidly because it almost guarantees that the new gene will be passed along to new generations. “This opens up the real promise… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gene-engineered-mosquitoes-cant-spread-malaria-researchers-n468481?cid=par-time-tech%5F20151124 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/"},"headline":"Gene-Engineered Mosquitoes Can't Spread Malaria, Say Researchers","datePublished":"2015-11-24T08:01:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:52:18.084Z","description":"The malaria parasite infected 198 million people in 2013, according to the World Health Organization","url":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/","keywords":["Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt066b3e550181ec15/69887289f887dcfa6ce93762/gettyimages-1392899701.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt066b3e550181ec15/69887289f887dcfa6ce93762/gettyimages-1392899701.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Aedes aegypti","caption":"Aedes aegypti","creditText":"Joao Paulo Burini—Flickr RF/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/","name":"Gene-Engineered Mosquitoes Can't Spread Malaria, Say Researchers"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Malaria Vaccine Passes First Major Hurdle","description":"After nearly 30 years of development and testing, the world’s first malaria vaccine got a major push forward on Friday morning.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oQb32spa/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-24T07:57:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oQb32spa.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4125490/mosquitoes-malaria-genetically-engineered/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```