A groundbreaking but controversial new gene-editing technology is accelerating a push to eradicate malaria, with scientists recently identifying two ways to block mosquitoes from transmitting the killer disease.

In a study published Monday, researchers at Imperial College London engineered genetic changes in a common breed of malaria-transmitting mosquito that could cause its population to plummet—to levels low enough to stop malaria from spreading. The work, published in Nature Biotechnology, was made public just two weeks...