Malaria is spread by mosquitoes, which bite an infected person or animal, then spread the parasite to another human or animal. A new study finds that the parasite that causes the disease produces an odor which attracts mosquitoes, inviting more bites and infections. The finding that chemical compounds called terpenes give off odors that mosquitoes find inviting could help break the cycle of … [Read more...]
Malaria Antibodies Discovery Advances Vaccine Research
A team of international researchers have made a major step towards a vaccine to for malaria, something scientists have long been trying to achieve as the disease kills up to 600,000 people each year. There have been two major roadblocks – scientists did not know what part of the disease the immune system needed to target, nor did they know the mechanism used by the immune system to block an … [Read more...]
Study Says An Aggressive Approach to Malaria is Necessary
The World Health Organization has reported the number of malaria cases is declining, while deaths have fallen dramatically in recent years. But a new study says malaria cases are not declining everywhere. For example, cases are increasing in parts of rural Uganda. Medicine and Hygiene – calls for a more aggressive and sustained approach to malaria. Dr. Philip Rosenthal, one of the researchers, … [Read more...]
Malaria Drug Resistance Spreading to Wider Geographic Area
The world’s best drug for treating malaria, a medicine that is the key to saving millions of lives in Africa and beyond, is losing its efficacy in a much larger swath of territory than was previously known, according to research that was released Friday.The study, in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a medical journal, raises the troubling prospect that resistance to the drug, artemisinin, might one … [Read more...]
Public Review of the 2nd Generation Global Malaria Action Plan 2016-2030
Statement from David Brandling Bennett, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Bernard Nahlen, U.S Presidents Malaria Initiative; Co-Chairs of the GMAP2 Task Force: "After months of extensive enquiry and a world-wide consultation which targeted constituencies and stakeholders in all sectors of society, we are delighted to invite the broader development community to review the penultimate … [Read more...]
Fighting Malaria is Going to Take More Than Just Nets
Utibe Effiong, University of Michigan and Lauretta Ovadje, University of Michigan In January, the New York Times highlighted how insecticide treated nets meant to protect people from mosquitoes and malaria are now being used to haul fish in Africa. Among those using these nets to catch fish, hunger today is a bigger risk than malaria tomorrow. For those who have experienced life in countries … [Read more...]
“Robot Scientist” Discovers New Malaria Drug Candidates
A team from the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge and Aberystwyth has demonstrated the potential of artificial intelligence by using Eve to discover that a compound shown to have anti-cancer properties might also be used in the fight against malaria. Robot scientists are a natural extension of the trend of increased involvement of automation in science. They can automatically develop and … [Read more...]
Intellectual Ventures Teams Up with GE to Fight Malaria
Intellectual Ventures’s Global Good division has teamed up with General Electric to create a new test for malaria that’s designed to spot even the parasites that cause the disease, even in cases that would otherwise be missed by traditional testing. It’s important work, since someone can be a host to malaria-causing parasites for months before showing symptoms, all the while transmitting those … [Read more...]
New Source of Cells for Modeling Malaria
A new advance by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers could aid in efforts to eradicate malaria. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered a way to grow liver-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells can be infected with several strains of the malaria parasite and respond to existing drugs the same way that mature liver cells … [Read more...]
Meant to Keep Malaria Out, Mosquito Nets Are Used to Haul Fish In
There is no fear but the fear of hunger.With that always weighing on his mind, Mwewa Ndefi gets up at dawn, just as the first orange rays of sun are beginning to spear through the papyrus reeds, and starts to unclump a mosquito net. Nets like his are widely considered a magic bullet against malaria — one of the cheapest and most effective ways to stop a disease that kills at least half a million … [Read more...]