Research forms the basis of informed decision-making and is thus the foundation of good public policy-making.

These were the sentiments shared by the Executive Director of the Ministry of Higher Education Training and Innovation, Dr Alfred van Kent, addressing the National Student Research Symposium, in the capital.
Dr van Kent says research on the contextual relevance of policies is imperative in addressing issues at hand - and for capacity building in research, especially at higher learning institutions.

Scientists have genetically modified mosquitoes with the ability to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their gut, an advance that can help prevent transmission of the disease to humans.

These engineered mosquitoes produce compounds which impede the growth of malaria-causing parasites, which are then unlikely to reach the mosquitoes' salivary glands and be passed on in a bite before the insects die.