Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Zika detection breakthrough by University of Queensland

A cheap and effective tool that could save lives by helping health authorities target mosquitos infected with Zika virus has been developed by researchers from the University of Queensland and colleagues in Brazil.

23 May 2018

Malaria-causing parasite seeks refuge inside the liver to replicate and survive

When the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasite first slips into the human bloodstream, injected by the bite of an infected mosquito, it does not immediately target red blood cells.

23 May 2018

Study brings fresh insights into biology of malaria parasite

A team of researchers led by a University of California, Riverside, scientist has found that various stages of the development of human malaria parasites, including stages involved in malaria transmission, are linked to epigenetic features and how chromatin -- the complex of DNA and proteins within the nucleus -- is organized and structured in these parasites.

18 May 2018

Lizards with bright green blood baffle scientists

A species of lizards has been found to have bright green blood. Researchers in their study published this Tuesday said that this finding could provide understanding in illnesses such as malaria and jaundice. The study was published in Science Advances.

17 May 2018

MIT researchers develop new versatile plug-and-play diagnostic devices

Researchers at MIT's Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices.

17 May 2018

Volatile biomarkers could help detect acute and asymptomatic malaria infections

Malaria is still a deadly disease in tropical and subtropical regions. Every year the disease infects more than 200 million people worldwide, claiming several hundred thousand victims.

15 May 2018

Researchers use body odor to diagnose malaria

An international team of researchers recently discovered that malaria could be diagnosed through changes in body odor.

15 May 2018

Researchers lab-test molecule that may combat common cold virus

Researchers have lab-tested a molecule that can combat the common cold virus by preventing it from hijacking human cells.

15 May 2018

Giving identical subsidies can get gold-standard medications into the hands of consumers

Equal subsidies "surprisingly powerful," in promoting use of gold-standard medications, new study shows.

9 May 2018

Newly developed technique allows researchers to study liver stage malaria

A newly developed technique allows researchers to more easily study malaria outside the human body during the earliest point of infection, the liver.

9 May 2018

Bone marrow is an important reservoir for replication and transmission of malaria parasites, shows study

A Plasmodium vivax infection is like an iceberg: It's dangerous, in part, because much of it hides out of view.

8 May 2018

Unexpected discovery could improve detection of malaria infections

While the global health community has made great strides toward eradicating malaria through prevention and treatment strategies, rapid and inexpensive methods to diagnose submicroscopic malaria in individuals who have no clinical symptoms and undetectable levels of disease-causing parasites in their blood remain an unmet need.

4 May 2018

Study reveals essential malaria parasite genes

Researchers have exploited a quirk in the genetic make-up of the deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to create 38,000 mutant strains and then determine which of the organism's genes are essential to its growth and survival.

3 May 2018

Scripps Research team receives $12 million grant to improve flu and malaria vaccines

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute aim to improve flu and malaria vaccines with the support of a new $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

3 May 2018

Ticks and mosquitoes a “growing health problem” says CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report warning people about the myriad of diseases that are transmitted via bites of blood-sucking insects such as ticks, mosquitoes and fleas calling it a “growing health problem” in the United States.

2 May 2018

Study: Dehydration prompts increased blood feeding by mosquitoes

When it's hot and dry, mosquitoes like nothing more than the refreshing taste of you.

2 May 2018

Study shows gene variations associated with malaria risk

Many people of African heritage are protected against malaria by inheriting a particular version of a gene, a large-scale study has shown.

25 Apr 2018

Meningitis in Newborns: What to Look Out For

Claire is Evidence & Policy Manager at the UK and international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF). She discusses the signs and symptoms of meningitis in newborns, and the aims for the recent diagnostic eTool developed by the MRF.

24 Apr 2018

Researchers use smartphone to diagnose people infected with Loa loa worm

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those people and give it to everyone else. Kamgno, who received the latest version of the phones in 2016, dubbed the mobile microscopes "revolutionary."

19 Apr 2018

Researchers discover unique protein in malaria parasite that could be new drug target

Over a thousand people die from malaria every day. The disease is caused by a single-cell parasite (protozoan) that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Anti-malaria efforts currently focus on effective diagnostics, mosquito nets, insecticides and drugs.

18 Apr 2018