Fifteen Canning Jars

The deadliest animal in the world isn’t the lion, the rhino or even the shark; it’s the lowly mosquito. Because they can carry and transmit diseases like Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria, mosquito bites are responsible for more than a million human deaths worldwide every year. But not all mosquitoes bite. Male mosquitoes feed on nectar; only females need blood to produce eggs. Last month researchers at Virginia Tech announced an interesting discovery: by changing a single gene, they can convert biting female mosquitoes into non-biting males. Even more exciting, the change persists through several generations. Every summer I fall victim to these flying nasties. I haven’t contracted West Nile or malaria, but I’ve lost several nights’ sleep to scratching. I’ve imagined hundreds of creative ways to eradicate mosquitoes. But gene therapy and gender conversion never once entered my mind.