Scientists are glowing after malaria find

Published on Monday 15 September 2008 10:10

EDINBURGH scientists could be on their way to a better understanding of diseases such as malaria after devising a system that makes parasitic organisms "glow".

The Edinburgh University team led by Toni Aebischer has genetically designed a special fluorescent version of a parasite known as Leishmania mexicana.

Parasites survive by attaching themselves to other organisms and drawing energy and sustenance from the host, a process that can often debilitate or kill the host.

Writing about their study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, the researchers revealed that they passed infected cells through a machine that can separate cell components based on how much they glow.

According to the researchers, the success of their approach should make it a good resource for other cellular parasites like malaria, which is most prominent in Sub-Saharan Africa and kills up to three million people a year worldwide.