Darpa wants to genetically engineer soldiers’ skin bacteria to protect them from mosquitoes
By 
Rebecca Trager2019-05-17T14:30:00
Pentagon programme aims to change chemical cues released by human skin microbes to provide a long-term defence from mosquito-borne diseases
A new project to provide long-term protection from mosquito-borne illnesses by genetically engineering people’s skin bacteria has been launched by the US Department of Defense (DOD). The goal of the programme is to give US soldiers lasting defence against a range of serious mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya that can rundown a unit’s fighting fitness.