Scientists seek weakness in malaria parasite's life cycle

A STUDY by Edinburgh University scientists has found when the malaria parasite is at its most harmful and when it is at its most vulnerable.

The discovery could help in the development of treatments to tackle the disease.

The researchers have found that the parasite is hampered by a shift in its body clock.

Dr Sarah Reece, of the university's School of Biological Sciences, who led the research, said: "For this study, we effectively gave the parasites jet lag. Our findings suggest that parasites have developed some clever tricks to get their timing right and cause an infection. This is rare evidence that organisms whose body clock is in sync with their environment have a better chance of survival. The more we know about how malaria parasites work, the better equipped we will be to tackle them effectively."