Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Bed nets alone are enough to protect against malaria, study suggests

The combined use of spraying insecticide inside homes and insecticide-treated bed nets is no better at protecting children against malaria than using bed nets alone, a study in The Gambia suggests. The findings, published in The Lancet, should encourage donors to invest their limited resources in additional bed nets, the more cost-effective solution to tackling malaria.

10 Dec 2014

Malaria deaths decline by 54% in Africa, 47% worldwide

The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, according to the World Malaria Report 2014. Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47% worldwide and by 54% in the WHO African Region - where about 90% of malaria deaths occur.

9 Dec 2014

Researchers develop nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick malaria parasites

Malaria parasites invade human red blood cells, they then disrupt them and infect others. Researchers at the University of Basel and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute have now developed so-called nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick the parasites. This could lead to novel treatment and vaccination strategies in the fight against malaria and other infectious diseases.

9 Dec 2014

Promising anti-malarial compound uses novel mechanism to kill malaria parasite

An international research collaborative has determined that a promising anti-malarial compound tricks the immune system to rapidly destroy red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite but leave healthy cells unharmed. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears in the current online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

5 Dec 2014

Melbourne researcher wins Sornchai Looareesuwan Medal for research on malaria

Melbourne researcher Professor Alan Cowman has won the Sornchai Looareesuwan Medal 2014 for his significant contributions to understanding how the malaria parasite causes disease and for his search for potential malaria vaccines.

4 Dec 2014

Scientists uncover potential ammunition in fight against malaria

Scientists have released details of a raft of new chemicals with potent anti-malarial properties which could open the way to new drugs to fight the disease.

4 Dec 2014

Researchers publish first comprehensive characterization of genetic diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Researchers from the African Genome Variation Project have published the first attempt to comprehensively characterise genetic diversity across Sub-Saharan Africa. The study of the world's most genetically diverse region will provide an invaluable resource for medical researchers and provides insights into population movements over thousands of years of African history.

4 Dec 2014

(RED) raises money for ‘Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’

As the world reaches a tipping point in the AIDS fight, (RED) and its iconic partners Apple, Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company and Starbucks marked World AIDS Day 2014 by rallying millions of people around the AIDS fight, and raising money for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers develop low-cost, electricity-free device for detecting DNA of infectious pathogens

Diagnosing HIV and other infectious diseases presents unique challenges in remote locations that lack electric power, refrigeration, and appropriately trained health care staff. To address these issues, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a low-cost, electricity-free device capable of detecting the DNA of infectious pathogens, including HIV-1.

2 Dec 2014

Grand Challenges Canada announces $1.2 million in grant for 11 new global health innovations

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announced $1.2 million in funding for 11 new global health innovations implemented in member states of La Francophonie.

29 Nov 2014

Health Canada warns Canadians against illegal health products

A vendor in Atlantic Canada (www.health-recovery-info.com) is selling Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), an unauthorized drug product which Health Canada has previously warned may pose serious risks to health if ingested.

29 Nov 2014

Certain mosquito species genetically better at transmitting malaria

Certain species of mosquitoes are genetically better at transmitting malaria than even some of their close cousins, according to a multi-institutional team of researchers including Virginia Tech scientists.

28 Nov 2014

Genom Austria project to explore impact of genome sequencing on science and society

In many countries, genome sequencing technology is now starting to become available in the clinic, where it helps to diagnose rare Mendelian diseases and contributes to personalized cancer therapy. The analysis of personal genomes also creates unprecedented opportunities for predictive health counseling, ancestry research, and many more applications that are just starting to emerge.

26 Nov 2014

New hybrid vehicle to improve delivery of DNA vaccines is under development

Described recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the technology is a biomedical advancement that could help unleash the potential of DNA vaccines, which despite two decades of research, have yet to make a significant impact in the treatment of major illnesses.

26 Nov 2014

Gates Foundation provides $2 million grant to help fight major parasitic diseases

Almost $2 million is being invested by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fight major parasitic diseases of the developing world.

25 Nov 2014

Raising awareness of sickle cell disease risks

Members of the public in sub-Saharan Africa who are carriers of the hereditary disease sickle cell disease must be educated aggressively through public health campaigns to raise awareness of the risks of parenting offspring with the disease if their partner is also a carrier, according to research published in the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics.

24 Nov 2014

'Spillover' of henipaviruses into humans underway, study finds

Another family of viruses, deadly in some cases, may have already jumped from fruit bats into humans in Africa, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. The study provides the first, preliminary scientific evidence that "spillover" of henipaviruses into human populations is underway.

19 Nov 2014