Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. When infected mosquitoes bite the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells. Even though this potentially fatal disease can be prevented and cured, each year 350-500 million cases of malaria still occur worldwide, and over one million people die.

The Effect of Climate Change on Malaria

In commemoration of World Malaria Day, 2021, we look at the relationship between malaria transmission and climate change.

World Malaria Day 2021: Finding new approaches to fight malaria

Malaria Mechanism

The Science Behind Why Mosquitoes Prefer to Bite Certain People

Malaria History

Malaria Society And Culture

What is Cerebral Malaria?

Malaria Epidemiology

What is Malaria?

Malaria: A Force Shaping Blood Cell Evolution?

Fighting malaria in 2021: Where are we now and where are we going?

Malaria Diagnosis

See more featured articles »

Malaria Causes

Malaria Treatment

Malaria Prevention

Malaria Symptoms

Driving the Self-Destruction of Malaria-Transmitting Mosquitos

World Malaria Day 2021: An interview with Sir Brian Greenwood

Latest Malaria News and Research

Study reveals genetic evolution of major malaria vector species in South America

Anopheles darlingi mosquitoes-a major vector of malaria in South America-are evolving in response to insecticides, which may make them harder to kill and malaria more difficult to control, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

27 Mar 2026

Nepal and Afghanistan show how abrupt aid cuts can unravel essential care

Abrupt cuts to external health aid can destabilize multiple essential services simultaneously in fragile, donor-dependent settings, as illustrated by Nepal and Afghanistan. The paper argues that donor withdrawal is not just a resilience test, but also an ethical and governance issue that should be managed through “transition discipline.”

24 Mar 2026

Inefficient referral pathways delay lifesaving care for millions of injured people

Many seriously injured patients in Global South countries are failing to reach medical care within the lifesaving 'golden hour' and ambulances are often associated with these delays.

23 Mar 2026

New tool helps identify fake medicines through pill dissolution patterns

Fake news can be tricky to spot, but spotting fake drugs just got a little easier. Researchers have devised a low-cost way to help distinguish legitimate medications from counterfeit ones.

19 Mar 2026

New report provides the most detailed picture of preventable child deaths worldwide

An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new estimates released today.

18 Mar 2026

Global indicators identified to monitor health before pregnancy worldwide

The key health and social indicators needed for a new global system to monitor people's health before pregnancy have been identified for the first time by researchers at University College London and the University of Southampton.

16 Mar 2026

USAID funding cuts increase financial burden for families with tuberculosis

More than a year after the second Trump administration began dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the global health consequences of this unprecedented loss in international aid continues to surface.

11 Mar 2026

Scientists uncover key protein essential for malaria parasite survival

An international team of scientists has shed light on the development of the malaria parasite and have identified a unique protein essential for its survival and transmission, which offers a promising new target for antimalaria drugs.

26 Feb 2026

Unexpected behavior observed during interactions between immune cells and dying cells

Over the years, cell biology has built a detailed picture of how cells compartmentalize their internal functions. Central to this organization is the nucleus, which houses the genetic material and is separated from the cytoplasm by a robust nuclear envelope.

25 Feb 2026

Calibr-Skaggs and Kainomyx join forces to accelerate development of antimalarial drugs

The Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines at Scripps Research and Kainomyx, Inc., today announced a new research collaboration to accelerate the discovery and development of next-generation antimalarial drugs.

17 Feb 2026

UK aid cuts accelerate dangerous retreat from global health in crisis-affected regions

UK aid cuts demand justice-led solutions such as debt restructuring to repair the harm, writes Katie Husselby, director of Action for Global Health.

17 Feb 2026

Engineered Listeria boosts innate immunity against cancer

After nearly 40 years of research on how Listeria bacteria manipulate our cells and battle our immune system to cause listeriosis, Daniel Portnoy and his colleagues have discovered a way to turn the bacteria into a potent booster of the immune system - and a potential weapon against cancer.

13 Feb 2026

Non-native birds drive widespread avian malaria transmission in Hawaii

New research on avian malaria, which has decimated Hawaii's beloved birds, explains how non-native birds play a key role in transmission and contribute to the widespread distribution of the disease.

10 Feb 2026

Stiff red blood cells drive sickle cell disease severity

A new breakthrough study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities could explain why patients with the same genetic sickle cell mutation experience different levels of pain, organ damage and response to treatment.

10 Feb 2026

Microbial generalists form planet-wide networks across ecosystems

In a new study published in Cell, scientists in the Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg reveal that microbes living in similar habitats are more alike than those simply inhabiting the same geographical region.

10 Feb 2026

CRISPR gene-drive technology reverses antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Antibiotic resistance (AR) has steadily accelerated in recent years to become a global health crisis. As deadly bacteria evolve new ways to elude drug treatments for a variety of illnesses, a growing number of "superbugs" have emerged, ramping up estimates of more than 10 million worldwide deaths per year by 2050.

7 Feb 2026

Rapid malaria resistance evolution in Sudanese Coptic populations

The study published in PNAS sets out how, in just 1,500 years, the Copts have acquired a genetic variant that protects them from contracting malaria after mixing with other Sudanese populations.

6 Feb 2026

DNA marker reveals pyrethroid resistance in malaria mosquitoes

A new study, jointly led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) in Cameroon, has detected a DNA marker in a gene encoding for a key enzyme, known as cytochrome P450, that helps mosquitoes to break down and survive exposure to pyrethroids, the main insecticides used for treating bed nets.

4 Feb 2026

Newly discovered stage controls malaria parasite division

Researchers studying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum have discovered a previously unknown stage in its life cycle that appears to be crucial for reproduction.

4 Feb 2026

WHO addresses the mental health impacts of neglected tropical diseases

A major new World Health Organization publication sets out, for the first time, a practical, evidence-based package of care to address the mental health impacts of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and the stigma that can prevent people from seeking care and participating fully in society.

4 Feb 2026