Photo: GSK via BBC
An accidental discovery has led scientists to a potential new way to fight malaria! In the pursuit of drug development, scientists from a GSK-run facility in Spain were puzzled to find that a colony of mosquitoes stopped carrying malaria. Upon further investigation, they identified a strain of bacteria, called TC1, that prevented the malaria parasites from growing in the mosquito's gut! "Once it colonizes the mosquito, it lasts for the entire lifespan," says Dr. Rodrigues, the leader of the program. This bacteria secretes a molecule that inhibits the parasites' growth and could potentially be used to treat areas frequented by these insects. While testing continues, this finding could be "a new tool in the box against one of the world's oldest diseases" that claims over 600,000 lives every year. Exciting times ahead in the fight against malaria!
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