Science Daily

Researchers have designed a drug-like compound which effectively blocks a critical step in the malaria parasite life cycle and are working to develop this compound into a potential first of its kind malaria treatment.

Researchers have identified how natural human antibodies can block malaria parasites from entering red blood cells, potentially indicating how new protective therapies could be developed against this globally significant disease. The research provides greater insight into how antibodies block the entry of Plasmodium vivax malaria parasites into young red blood cells called reticulocytes. It builds on an earlier discovery that the P. vivax latches onto the transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) to enter cells.

Researchers reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77 percent over 12 months of follow-up.

Dietary sugars and gut microbes play a key role in promoting malaria parasite infection in mosquitoes. Researchers have uncovered evidence that mosquitoes fed a sugar diet show an increased abundance of the bacterial species Asaia bogorensis, which enhances parasite infection by raising the gut pH level.

Altering a mosquito's gut genes to make them spread antimalarial genes to the next generation of their species shows promise as an approach to curb malaria.

Scientists have discovered that tracking malaria as it develops in humans is a powerful way to detect how the malaria parasite causes a range of infection outcomes in its host. The study, found some remarkable differences in the way individuals respond to malaria and raises fresh questions in the quest to understand and defeat the deadly disease.

Aedes aegypti are the primary vector for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. However, the effects of climate change-related weather anomalies on mosquito populations is not well understood. A new study suggests that early interventions may prevent disease transmission even as extreme climate events may increase the abundance of Ae. aegypti populations.

Researchers published findings that blight leads to an increased abundance of disease-carrying mosquitoes. The researchers investigated the presence of several mosquito species in two adjacent but socio-economically contrasting neighborhoods in Baton Rouge: the historic Garden District, a high-income neighborhood, and the Old South neighborhood, a low-income area.

Deforestation may cause an initial increase in malaria infections across Southeast Asia before leading to later decreases, a study suggests.

Furthermore, the targeted Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) intervention was safe, less costly, and more cost-effective compared with standard 'blanket' IRS, meaning savings could potentially be reallocated to other malaria control and elimination activities.

Genome variation data on more than 7,000 malaria parasites from 28 endemic countries is released today. It has been produced by MalariaGEN, a data-sharing network of groups around the world who are working together to build high-quality data resources for malaria research and disease control. This open data release provides benchmark data on parasite genome variation that is needed in the search for new drugs and vaccines, and in the development of surveillance tools for malaria control and elimination.

After nearly a decade of research, a new test that detects the magnetic properties of malaria-infected blood could soon be used to help eliminate the mosquito-borne disease.

Using venom from a cone snail, a new study suggests these conotoxins may potentially treat malaria. The study provides important leads toward the development of new and cost-effective anti-adhesion or blockade-therapy drugs aimed at counteracting the pathology of severe malaria. Similarly, mitigation of emerging diseases like COVID-19 also could benefit from conotoxins as potential inhibitors of protein-protein interactions as treatment. Venom peptides from cone snails has the potential to treat myriad diseases using blockage therapies.

Dengue virus is among growing number of mosquito-borne viruses that have adapted to spread in urban environments and are spreading with the increasing rate of urbanization. Now, researchers have identified tap water access in densely populated neighborhoods as a strong predictor of dengue risk in the city of Delhi.

A global team of researchers has developed a new strategy for fast and reliable antibody tests, which can quantify the immune response induced by vaccination and reveal the timeline and stage of pathogen infection. The team's one-step quantitative antibody tests are conducted using (blood) serum and are on a par with the gold-standard, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.

Malaria is an ancient scourge, but it's still leaving its mark on the human genome. And now, researchers have uncovered recent traces of adaptation to malaria in the islanders of Cabo Verde -- thanks to a genetic mutation, inherited from their African ancestors, that prevents a type of malaria parasite from invading red blood cells. The findings represent one of the speediest, most dramatic changes measured in the human genome.

Malaria is one of the most common causes of death in children in Africa. When the parasite builds up in the blood vessels of the brain, it develops into one of the most dangerous forms of the disease, cerebral malaria. Though it wasn't certain if the parasite was able to penetrate the brain tissue, now researchers have found parasites can do that and have mapped the mechanism they utilize.

Cisplatin has been used to treat cancer since the 1970s. Since then, many other platinum-containing cytostatic drugs have been developed, such as triplatinNC, a highly charged complex that contains three ligand-bridged platinum atoms. Unlike cisplatin, this drug also directly inhibits metastasis. The reason for this seems to be modulation of the geometry of a sugar component of heparan sulfate, an important component of the extracellular matrix.

Scientists have identified novel antiplasmodial lead compounds for mass drug administration and vector control to eliminate malaria.

Mosquitoes are transmitters of several diseases and pesticides are used to control their numbers in many countries. New study finds Wolbachia - a bacteria commonly found in insects - appears to protect them against these pesticides.