BBC: 'Breakthrough' in malaria fight
Australian scientists have identified a potential treatment to combat malaria.
Researchers in Melbourne believe their discovery could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease.
The malaria parasite produces a glue-like substance which makes the cells it infects sticky, so they cannot be flushed through the body.
The researchers have shown removing a protein responsible for the glue can destroy its stickiness, and undermine the parasite's defence.
The malaria parasite produces the "glue" when it infects target red blood cells, enabling them to stick to the walls of blood vessels.
This stops them being pased through the spleen, where the parasites would usually be destroyed by the immune system.
Using genetic tests of the parasite, the Australian scientists identified eight proteins responsible for the production of the "glue".
Removing just one of these proteins stopped the cell from attaching itself to the walls of blood vessels. …
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