Weakness found in deadly malaria parasite

Sanger Institute researchers in Cambridge have identified the route that plasmodium falciparum--the most deadly of the malaria parasites--uses to enter red blood cells. By interrupting red blood cell receptor basigin and PfRh5, a protein on the parasite, the Sanger team was able to prevent infection. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature, could serve as a basis for a vaccine that trains the body to attack PfRh5. Report