Trypanosomes News and Research

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Harvard scientists discover entirely new gene regulation system in mammals

For decades, scientists have understood that each of the roughly 20,000 genes in the human body carries the instructions for a single kind of protein.

2 Sep 2026

PEX38 protein offers new target against tropical trypanosome diseases

The pathogens that cause tropical diseases rely on an essential protein that is absent from all other organism. This discovery opens the possibility for targeted treatment.

27 Feb 2026

Researchers discover critical vulnerability shared by pathogens causing tropical diseases

Researchers working with Professor Ralf Erdmann at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have discovered a critical vulnerability shared by the pathogens that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

27 Feb 2026

Researchers target weakness in pathogens causing tropical diseases

Researchers are zeroing in on the Achilles’ heel of pathogens that cause Chagas disease, sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis.

8 May 2025

Researchers create detailed 3D map of parasite behind sleeping sickness

Millions of people worldwide are affected by African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and other life-threatening infections caused by microscopic parasites borne by insects such as the tsetse fly.

23 Apr 2025

Study unveils mechanisms behind antigenic variation in pathogens

A new study by LMU and Helmholtz Munich shows how pathogens control changes in their cell surface to evade the immune system.

14 Mar 2025

Scientists discover new details about RNA editing in single-celled, disease-causing parasite

As molecular biologists at Boston University and as husband and wife, Ruslan Afasizhev and Inna Afasizheva, have worked together for decades. Together, they have published dozens of papers on the mechanics of mitochondrial DNA and RNA in a single-celled, disease-causing parasite called Trypanosoma brucei.

19 Jul 2023

Trial shows acoziborole drug clears body of African sleeping sickness parasites

Researchers evaluate the efficacy and safety of an oral antimicrobial drug acoziborole in patients with human African trypanosomiasis.

4 Dec 2022

Study shows the efficacy of new, single-dose, oral treatment for sleeping sickness

A new, single-dose, oral treatment for sleeping sickness is as effective as current treatments and could be a key factor in eliminating disease transmission by 2030, suggests a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

30 Nov 2022

Researchers identify traditional Ghanaian medicines to eradicate neglected tropical diseases

The discovery of new drugs is vital to achieving the eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa and around the world.

4 Jan 2021

Vitamin D could help suppress excessive T cell-mediated lung inflammation in severe COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues to spread over the world scientists continue to seek the reasons for the difference in disease severity from person to person.

22 Jul 2020

New chemical could potentially lead to a cure for neglected tropical diseases

Scientists say they are a step closer to developing a drug to kill the trypanosome parasite that causes human African trypanosomiasis, otherwise known as sleeping sickness, paving the way for a potential cure.

13 Jul 2020

Yale researchers take important step toward curbing the threat posed by tsetse fly

When an infected tsetse fly bites humans or other mammals to feed on their blood, microscopic parasites (African trypanosomes) in the fly's saliva are transferred. The unfortunate recipient of the bite, once infected, often faces severe health consequences, even death.

3 Feb 2020

New leishmaniasis look-alike parasitic infection reported

A new study published online in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases describes the appearance of a new protozoan infection carried by insects which causes symptoms that mimic the disease called visceral leishmaniasis, caused by a different parasite.

2 Oct 2019

Detailed imaging of trypanosome paves way for new opportunities to combat sleeping sickness

The parasite trypanosome does not swim through a blood vessel as has always been assumed, it can simply be carried along with the flow.

25 Sep 2019

Discovery of protein that may be key to treating tropical diseases

Neglected tropical diseases form a group of infectious parasitic diseases that affect a large percentage of the world population, mostly in emerging nations. Sleeping sickness affects millions in sub-Saharan Africa and is caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly.

27 Aug 2019

Scientists join forces to identify a new approach to fight African sleeping sickness

Scientists working in a range of disciplines joined forces to identify a new approach to combat African sleeping sickness. Fundamental research undertaken under the supervision of Professor Ute Hellmich of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has revealed a promising strategy to develop a suitable agent.

20 Feb 2019

Unusual molecular regulatory mechanism discovered in unicellular parasites

Researchers of the University of Bern have discovered a new molecular regulatory mechanism in unicellular parasites which has never before been observed.

10 Jan 2019

Sleeping sickness parasite exhibits metabolic flexibility and adaptability

Parasitic protozoa called trypanosomes synthesize sugars using an unexpected metabolic pathway called gluconeogenesis, according to a study published December 27 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by David Horn of the University of Dundee in the UK, and colleagues.

28 Dec 2018

Researchers aim to protect humans, mammals from deadly effects of African sleeping sickness

A team of Clemson University researchers wants to protect humans and other mammals from the debilitating and even deadly effects of African sleeping sickness.

21 Nov 2018