Can scientists genetically engineer mosquitos to eliminate malaria? Professor Ethan Bier from UC San Diego believes they can. In this talk at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, he discusses various ways in which self-copying—or active—genetic elements can be used to bias inheritance of beneficial characteristics. Such active genetic elements can be used to confer resistance to transmission of pathogens, re-sensitize pesticide-resistant insect pests and disease-vector populations to insecticides, restore natural ecosystems, or combine multiple favorable traits to create animal models for human disease or optimized agricultural strains of plants. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 34753]