17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Looking for GMO mosquitoes

I took this photo in the southwest Bale province of Burkina Faso, where I worked on a story about the eradication of malaria. In the small town of Bana, researchers hope to release genetically modified mosquitoes. Their rather controversial method: make sure that one type of malaria-spreading mosquito can only have male offspring, which would mean that one mosquito species will eventually die out.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2019
Photo Location: Bana, Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso
Copyright: © Joost Bastmeijer