|
|
Tweet |
Malaria’s Achilles’ heel revealed
"Our findings were unexpected and have completely changed the way in which we view the invasion process,"
- Dr Gavin Wright, senior co-author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Researchers have revealed a key discovery in understanding how the most deadly species of malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, invades human red blood cells.
Using a technique developed at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, they have found that the parasite relies on a single receptor on the red blood cell's surface to invade, offering an exciting new focus for vaccine development.