Parasitology News and Research

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Parasitology is the study of organisms that gain nutrients and protection from their host, without any benefit to the host.

Study finds artemisinin resistance in African children with severe malaria

Mutations in malarial parasites linked to artemisinin-resistance in Southeast Asia have now been found in African children hospitalised for complicated malaria, according to a new study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH).

15 Nov 2024

Brazil-Italy joint lab focuses on Alzheimer’s drug development

A self-proclaimed Brazil-Italy collaboration enthusiast, researcher Laura Bolognesi created the B2AlzD2 Joint Lab at the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the Università di Bologna (UNIBO), the first Brazil-Bologna joint laboratory dedicated to the development of new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Oct 2024

LSHTM receives £2.8m grant to tackle hidden malaria in India

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have been awarded £2.8m to study factors sustaining malaria transmission in an area of India where infections are evading detection.

27 Aug 2024

Novel bottom-up approach in synthetic immunology opens a new frontier for disease treatment

Synthetic immunology, an innovative field of research which could lead to fundamentally new approaches and methods in the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer, is the topic of an article in the "Perspectives" section of the journal "Nature Nanotechnology". Herein, Heidelberg researchers Prof. Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich, Prof. Dr. Michael Platten, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Frischknecht, and Prof. Dr. Oliver T. Fackler describe a so-called bottom-up approach that uses the toolbox of nanotechnology and synthetic biology to construct systems from molecular building blocks and specifically equip them with immune functions.

27 Aug 2024

One health approach to tackling Acanthamoeba infections at UNGA79

The session "Harnessing the Power of Nature: A One Health Approach Against Acanthamoeba" will be one of the key events at UNGA79, focusing on the urgent need to tackle Acanthamoeba infections, which pose a significant and growing threat to global health.

23 Aug 2024

Pioneering study brings leishmaniasis vaccine development closer

Scientists have developed a new, safe and effective way to infect volunteers with the parasite that causes leishmaniasis and measure the body's immune response, bringing a vaccine for the neglected tropical disease a step closer.

2 Aug 2024

Supermarket pre-washed vegetables test positive for Cryptosporidium

The presence of the food- and waterborne parasite Cryptosporidium parvum in samples of ready-to-eat, pre-washed vegetables.

24 Jun 2024

New point-of-care test revolutionizes toxoplasmosis screening

An inexpensive, accurate test that detects infections with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can provide results within 30 minutes from a finger-prick in a doctor's office or within an hour from a small blood sample tested in a local medical laboratory.

28 May 2024

New collaboration to combat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis

Prof. Achim Hoerauf, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), and his team have succeeded in collaborating with the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at the University of Bonn and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), to enter into a partnership with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai for the further development of the antibiotic corallopyronin A (CorA) as a treatment for the neglected tropical diseases river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and to raise a large amount of funding.

10 May 2024

Researchers discover protein key to toxoplasmosis pathogen multiplication

Researchers have identified a protein that evolved concurrently with the emergence of cellular compartments crucial for the multiplication of the toxoplasmosis pathogen.

16 Feb 2024

Can ChatGPT revolutionize nutrition education? Study examines potential and challenges

The potential of ChatGPT application as a knowledge-enhancement tool in the nutrition domain.

25 Oct 2023

New artemisinin-resistant malaria parasite detected in Eritrea

Diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria using rapid diagnostic tests and treatment with artemisinin derivatives, the main component of the malaria treatments recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), are under threat in the Horn of Africa.

29 Sep 2023

UC researchers study parasite that causes Chagas disease

Almost everything about insects called kissing bugs is revolting, from the insidious way they bite people's faces at night to drink their blood while they sleep to the way they spread disease through their poop.

23 Aug 2023

Current methods overestimate malaria parasite multiplication rates

Current methods can vastly overestimate the rates that malaria parasites are multiplying in an infected person's blood, which has important implications for determining how harmful they could be to a host, according to a new report.

17 Aug 2023

Study identifies a promising target for development of vaccine against spotted fever

A protein found in cells of the hard tick Amblyomma sculptum, the main vector of the bacterium that causes Brazilian spotted fever (also known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever), is essential to the tick's survival while feeding, making it a promising target for development of a vaccine, according to an article published in the journal Parasites & Vectors.

7 Jun 2023