Ghana: DNA 'Barcoding' Raises Hopes for Elephantiasis

29 April 2009

Accra — Scientists in Ghana have found a new way to eliminate elephantiasis, which causes severe swelling and immune damage, and is one of the most common causes of disability in the world.

Scientists at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana say that DNA barcoding can identify the particular species of Anopheles mosquito that transmits the parasitic worm responsible for the disease. DNA barcoding is a technique that uses a DNA sequence from a particular region of a genome to capture a species' unique identity.

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