How mosquitoes could teach humans a trick in the fight against malaria!!!

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

         About 40 per cent of the world's population live in areas with malaria, and an estimated 300-500 million are infected a year; of which 1.5-2.7 m die. In the year 2000, malaria caused nearly 45 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), accounting for 13 percent of all DALYs associated with infectious diseases. Malaria is caused by a protozoan (single celled animal) parasite transmitted by blood sucking mosquitoes. There are four species of protozoa that cause malaria; Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the majority of infections and is the most fatal.
          The means, by which most deadly malaria parasites (plasmodium) are detected and killed by the mosquitoes that carry them, is revealed for the first time in researches published in March 5 in Science Express. The discovery could help researchers find a way to block transmission of the disease from mosquitoes to humans.
          The Plasmodium parasites that enter the bloodstream are called sporozoites. Sporozoites go to the liver, where they multiply before changing into a different form called merozoites. The merozoites enter into the red blood cells (erythrocytes) to multiply; and this makes the person very sick with symptoms of malaria. A person can look well but still have Plasmodium in the liver in a dormant phase. Weeks or months later, the Plasmodium can leave the liver and enter the bloodstream, and the person will get sick again. P. falciparum causes the most dangerous type of malaria, making people sicker than other Plasmodium species, because there are more of them in the blood. With falciparum malaria, the red blood cells are sticky, so they block the blood vessels.
        In summary, mosquitoes become infected with malaria when they feed on the blood of an infected person. Juvenile malaria parasites then grow and develop inside the mosquito for two weeks. New human infections occur when these parasites are 'injected' with the insect's saliva during the mosquito's next blood meal.
          PROGRESS: However, most of the malaria parasites are killed by the mosquito's immune system as soon as they enter the insect's bloodstream, with only one or two slipping through the net and going on to divide, multiply, and infect people.
          The new study shows exactly how the mosquito's immune system kicks in to kill 80 - 90 percent of the parasites. The researchers discovered that the parasites are detected by a pair of proteins called LRIM1 and APL1C which belong to the mosquito's infection surveillance system. These two 'intruder detection' proteins then activate a third protein in the mosquito's blood called TEP1, which seeks out the parasitic invader, binds to its surface and orchestrates its destruction by punching holes in its cell membrane.

[EMTL]

ssalamu alaikum,
Thanks for sharing this imporatnt info with us. Allah (SWT) Ya karemu.

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

Amin Modibbo EMTL!!!

[gogannaka]

God help us in the fight against malaria.

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

Gogan naka sai kallo; amin!!!

[EMTL]

Assalamu alaikum,
Scientists in the U.S. are developing a laser gun that could kill millions of mosquitoes in minutes. The WHO has reported that around half of the world's population is at risk of malaria. 1 of 2  The laser, which has been dubbed a "weapon of mosquito destruction" fires at mosquitoes once it detects the audio frequency created by the beating of its wings. The laser beam then destroys the mosquito, burning it on the spot.

Developed by some of the astrophysicists involved in what was known as the "Star Wars" anti-missile programs during the Cold War, the project is meant to prevent the spread of malaria. Lead scientist on the project, Dr. Jordin Kare, told CNN that the laser would be able to sweep an area and "toast millions of mosquitoes in a few minutes."

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people from the bites of female mosquitoes. It is particularly prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and kills an African child every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organization.

There are an estimated 300 million acute cases of malaria each year globally, resulting in more than one million deaths, the WHO reports.

Responding to questions about any potential harm the laser could pose to the eco-system, Kare said: "There is no such thing as a good mosquito, there's nothing that feeds exclusively on them. No one would miss mosquitoes," he said. "In any case," he added. "The laser is able to distinguish between mosquitoes that go after people and those that aren't dangerous."
He added that other insects would not be affected by the laser's beam.

The research was commissioned by Intellectual Ventures, a Washington, U.S.-based company that was founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft Corporation executive.

His previous boss, Bill Gates, who funded the research, asked Myhrvold to look into new ways of combating malaria.

[gogannaka]

This is a very good development.
I hope the laser will be cheap and avaialable to africans.

That is the kind of research the world's richest people should be embarking upon.