Plasmodium falciparum News and Research

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GWAS Identifies Key Genetic Factors for Lassa Fever Susceptibility and Severity

While combing through the human genome in 2007, computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti made a discovery that would transform her research career.

9 Feb 2024

EMBL-EBI Launches Pathogens Portal to Enhance Global Pathogen Surveillance

EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) has launched the Pathogens Portal – an online platform that enables researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to access the most comprehensive collection of biomolecular data about pathogens.

7 Jul 2023

Understanding How Malaria Parasite Modulates Apicoplast Gene Expression

A recent study supported by Tokyo Tech’s World Research Hub Initiative discovered that gene expression within the apicoplast, an organelle in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is controlled by melatonin (the circadian signaling hormone) in host blood and intrinsic parasite cues via a factor called ApSigma.

5 Jul 2023

Researchers Show a Second Key Gene Involved in Malaria's Resistance to Chloroquine

How malaria parasites evolved to evade a major antimalarial drug has long been thought to involve only one key gene.

12 May 2023

Essential Oil From the Leaves of Labrador Tea Plant Has Antimalarial Properties

Much of what is now considered modern medicine originated as folk remedies or traditional, Indigenous practices. These customs are still alive today, and they could help address a variety of conditions.

12 May 2023

Effective new drugs to reduce the massive number of malaria cases

Malaria is known as a disastrous disease, with 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths reported in 2021 alone.

From The University of New South Wales (UNSW) 31 Jan 2023

The exchange of nutrients between the mother and fetus mirrored by ‘placenta-on-a-chip’

Plasmodium falciparum infections can result in placental malaria, which can have serious consequences for both mother and child. Nearly 200,000 newborn fatalities annually from placental malaria, primarily as a result of low birth weight, as well as 10,000 maternal deaths.

27 Sep 2022

Experts identify a potential new target for antimalarial development

A protein that plays an important biological role in the malaria-causing parasite has been discovered by an international research team.

18 Feb 2022

Study reveals how a fly’s brain contributes to sensing the cold and limiting reproduction

Scientists have uncovered a set of neurons in fruit flies that shut down in cold temperatures and slow reproduction, a system conserved in many insects, including mosquitoes, which could provide a target for pest control.

18 Feb 2022

Study: Role of natural mosquito behavior on malaria transmission

Everyone knows 2 + 2 = 4, but what about mosquitoes plus malaria? Lauren Childs, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics at Virginia Tech, says there's an equation for that too.

25 Feb 2021

Vaccine based on virus-like particle could generate antibodies to prevent malaria

An inexpensive, long-lasting and easy-to-administer vaccine against malaria could be a game-changer for millions of people living in countries where the mosquito-borne disease is endemic.

5 Feb 2021

Study finds how the malaria parasite can withstand fever's heat

Even when a person suffering from malaria is burning up with fever and too sick to function, the tiny blood-eating parasites lurking inside them continue to flourish, relentlessly growing and multiplying as they gobble up the host's red blood cells.

6 Oct 2020

New database of 14,000 known macrolactones could aid future drug discovery

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Collaborations Pharmaceuticals have created a free-to-use database of 14,000 known macrolactones - large molecules used in drug development - which contains information about the molecular characteristics, chemical diversity and biological activities of this structural class.

22 Apr 2020

Deadliest Malaria Strain Protects Itself From The Immune System

The parasite causing the most severe form of human malaria uses proteins to make red blood cells sticky, making it harder for the immune system to destroy it.

17 Apr 2020