Send a Net, Save a Life

This is some information on the Nothing But Nets program.

http://www.nothingbutnets.net

Why Ending Malaria May Be More About Backhoes Than Bed Nets

Malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases worldwide. But the U.S. successfully wiped out the mosquito-borne parasite from the American South in the early part of the 20th century. One researcher thinks this successful campaign offers lessons for how to stop malaria worldwide.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014'01/0...e=share&utm_campaign=

Despite unprecedented investment in malaria control, most Africans at high risk for contracting deadly malaria--Science Daily

Despite unprecedented investment in malaria control in Africa over the past decade, about 57% of the population still live in areas where the risk of infection remains high, according to new research.

However, new findings also show that substantial reductions in malaria transmission have been achieved across most of the malaria-endemic countries of Africa between 2000 and 2010, with more than a quarter of the population (around 218 million people) now living in areas with a much lower risk of infection.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140219205100.htm

Immune tanzanian children as possible source of aid in developing a vaccine against malaria: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27522950

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140716131543.htm

Scientists may be able to entomb the malaria parasite in a prison of its own making, researchers report. As it invades a red blood cell, the malaria parasite takes part of the host cell's membrane to build a protective compartment. The parasite then starts a series of major renovations that transform the red blood cell into a suitable home. But the new research reveals the proteins that make these renovations must pass through a single pore in the parasite's compartment to get into the red blood cell. When the scientists disrupted passage through that pore in cell cultures, the parasite stopped growing and died.

Previous studies have suggested that HSP101 [heat shock protein 101] might be involved in protein secretion. The researchers disabled HSP101 in cell cultures, expecting to block the discharge of some malarial proteins. To their surprise, they stopped all of them.

"We think this is a very promising target for drug development," Goldberg said. "We're a long way from getting a new drug, but in the short term we may look at screening a variety of compounds to see if they have the potential to block HSP101." The scientists think HSP101 may ready malarial proteins for secretion through a pore that opens into the red blood cell. Part of this preparation may involve unfolding the proteins into a linear form that allows them to more easily pass through the narrow pore. HSP101 may also give the proteins a biochemical kick that pushes them through the pore.

Beck noted that researchers at the Burnet Institute neutralized the parasite in a similar fashion by disabling another protein thought to be involved in the passage of proteins through this pore. "That suggests there are multiple components of the process that we may be able to target with drugs," he said. "In addition, many of the proteins involved in secretion are unlike any human proteins, which means we may be able to disable them without adversely affecting important human proteins."