The Synaptic Leap

 Local Programs Take a Bite out of MalariaClive J. Shiff and Phil ThumaScience 329 (5994), 900-a (20 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1126/science.329.5994.900-aThe 14 May special section on Tuberculosis and Malaria (p. 841) did not sufficiently emphasize the development and support of health infrastructure in endemic areas. There is a reason that Zambia is doing well whereas its neighbors have made little progress with malaria. In Zambia, the Ministry of Health is functional and organized. From 1950 until 2000, Zimbabwe also had a successful malaria control operation, which until recently was staffed and run by local scientists operating in a well-managed health system. Malaria can be controlled, but to do so we must train local scientists and establish careers for them within these health services. National governments, with the help of the World Health Organization and others, must foster and encourage the establishment of local scientists. Local universities need assistance in developing degree programs to train epidemiologists, biologists, and health managers to take the lead in running and managing the control operations. To maximize the effect of these programs, we must rapidly collect and process data. Interventions can then be targeted and the disease reduced to smaller and smaller foci. We hope that an organized, locally supported health system can restrict malaria until it is no longer of major public health importance. However, we must remain vigilant: As Zimbabwe has shown, malaria will return with a vengeance if the health system deteriorates.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to treatment prevention malaria on Sat Aug 28 2010 at 04:15 UTC | info | related

 Climate change and the global malaria recessionPeter Gething et al.Nature 465 (7296), 342-5 (20 May 2010)info:doi/10.1038/nature09098Posted by tietoukka and 1 other to temperatures malaria on Thu Aug 19 2010 at 10:40 UTC | info | related

 Cheryl Cole moving to US for DerekGadgets News : Entertainment News : Bollywood Gossips : Hollywood Flicks : Sports News, (08 Aug 2010)It happens often after recovering from a long flu or such like that,person becomes very straight forward. Singer Cheryl Cole has apparently decided that she’ll move to the US for her alleged lover Derek HoughPosted by fundugadets to Cheryl Hough Derek ashley Cole US malaria on Sun Aug 08 2010 at 19:03 UTC | info | related

 Branched tricarboxylic acid metabolism in Plasmodium falciparumKellen Olszewski et al.Nature 466 (7307), 774-8 (05 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1038/nature09301A central hub of carbon metabolism is the tricarboxylic acid cycle1, which serves to connect the processes of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, respiration, amino acid synthesis and other biosynthetic pathways. The protozoan intracellular malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.), however, have long been suspected of possessing a significantly streamlined carbon metabolic network in which tricarboxylic acid metabolism plays a minor role2. Blood-stage Plasmodium parasites rely almost entirely on glucose fermentation for energy and consume minimal amounts of oxygen3, yet the parasite genome encodes all of the enzymes necessary for a complete tricarboxylic acid cycle4. Here, by tracing 13C-labelled compounds using mass spectrometry5 we show that tricarboxylic acid metabolism in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is largely disconnected from glycolysis and is organized along a fundamentally different architecture from the canonical textbook pathway. We find that this pathway is not cyclic, but rather is a branched structure in which the major carbon sources are the amino acids glutamate and glutamine. As a consequence of this branched architecture, several reactions must run in the reverse of the standard direction, thereby generating two-carbon units in the form of acetyl-coenzyme A. We further show that glutamine-derived acetyl-coenzyme A is used for histone acetylation, whereas glucose-derived acetyl-coenzyme A is used to acetylate amino sugars. Thus, the parasite has evolved two independent production mechanisms for acetyl-coenzyme A with different biological functions. These results significantly clarify our understanding of the Plasmodium metabolic network and highlight the ability of altered variants of central carbon metabolism to arise in response to unique environments.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to plasmodium metabolism malaria on Sat Aug 07 2010 at 05:07 UTC | info | related

 Metabolism: Malaria parasite stands out - on article in NatureMetabolism Malaria parasite stands outHagai GinsburgNature 466 (7307), 702-3 (05 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1038/466702aOne of the hallmarks of cellular biochemistry is the ability to extract energy efficiently from available substrates. The malaria parasite, however, deviates from the norm, and has come up with its own solution ... Olszewski and colleagues1 use a metabolomic approach to analyse the TCA cycle of blood-stage P. falciparum, the most lethal of the four parasite species that cause malaria in humans. Their Herculean effort seems to have been well rewarded. In agreement with previous suggestions2, they find that — unlike the canonical TCA cycle, which is unidirectional and oxidative — the cycle used by the parasite (which contains the genes encoding all of the known TCA-cycle enzymes) is bifurcated, part of it being oxidative and the other part being reductive (Fig. 1). What's more, as the parasite cannot convert pyruvate into acetyl-CoA in its mitochondrion3, depriving it of this substrate for the TCA cycle, it instead feeds the amino acids glutamic acid and/or glutamine into the cycle.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to plasmodium metabolism malaria on Sat Aug 07 2010 at 05:06 UTC | info | related

 New Map Illustrates Risk From the 'Other' MalariaGretchen VogelScience 329 (5992), 618 (06 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1126/science.329.5992.618Nearly 3 billion people are at risk of infection with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax, according to a new analysis published this week in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The P. vivax parasite has long been considered the milder, less-dangerous cousin of P. falciparum. But recent studies have made clear that P. vivax can also cause deadly complications in infected people. A new map of areas where the parasite has been reported, and where conditions are right for mosquitoes to transmit it, should serve as a wake-up call for those who hope to eliminate malaria, epidemiologists say.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to Plasmodium vivax malaria on Thu Aug 05 2010 at 18:51 UTC | info | related

 Demand for malaria drug soarsRichard van NoordenNature News, (03 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1038/466672aFarmers and scientists struggle to keep up with needs of ambitious medicine-subsidy programme ... From bust to boom to bust again: artemisinin, the key ingredient of front-line antimalarial drugs, is entering the third chapter of its turbulent history. A decade ago, the compound — available only from the sweet wormwood plant Artemisia annua — was scarce and expensive. But by 2007, the market was wallowing in a surfeit of the drug as farmers flocked to grow the crop. Now, as a US$343-million initiative starts to battle malaria through hugely subsidized medicines, suppliers are again worried that there will not be enough artemisinin to go around, while farmers, plant breeders and synthetic biologists are hoping that they can snap the drug out of its roller-coaster supply cycle. This year's problems began with what should be a malaria success story. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria last month saw its first orders for cheap drugs under its Affordable Medicines Facility — Malaria (AMFm) initiative. Using subsidies, it plans to cut the price of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which partner artemisinin with another drug to reduce the chance of malaria parasites developing resistance, as they have done to treatments such as chloroquine.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to artemisinin treatment malaria on Wed Aug 04 2010 at 19:51 UTC | info | related

 Genome-wide association studies in Plasmodium speciesBridget Penman et al.BMC Biology 8 (1), 90 (13 Jul 2010)info:doi/10.1186/1741-7007-8-90Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) look for correlations between traits of interest and genetic markers spread throughout the genome. A recent study in BMC Genetics has found that populations of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax should be amenable to GWAS searching for a genetic basis of parasite pathogenicity. Geographical substructure in populations may, however, prove a problem in interpreting the results.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to plasmodium genomics malaria on Wed Jul 14 2010 at 06:19 UTC | info | related

 Reisen nach Mumbai / Indien - Erhöhtes Malaria-Risiko in der Finanzmetropolewww.flugprofis.dePosted by Fluginformationen with 1 comment to Reisemedizin Mückenschutz Mücken reiseapotheke Fernreisen Reisehinweise flugreisen arzt bombay indien mumbai reisen Kerala Karnataka malaria on Tue Aug 24 2010 at 09:02 UTC | info | related

 Hepatocyte dysfunction and hepatic encephalopathy in Plasmodium falciparum malariaD Kochar et al.QJM 96 (7), (01 Jul 2003)info:pmid/12881593 | info:doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcg091Posted by docmosal to malaria on Mon Jul 12 2010 at 09:59 UTC | info | related

 A Molecular Clock for Malaria ParasitesRobert E. Ricklefs and Diana C. OutlawScience 329 (5988), 226-9 (09 Jul 2010)info:doi/10.1126/science.1188954Posted by ryan1schmidt to malaria molecular biology genetics science on Fri Jul 09 2010 at 22:39 UTC | info | related

 The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Yearskindlebooks.frecord.comPosted by webblogads with 1 comment to 500000 humankind ruled years Fever malaria on Sun Aug 08 2010 at 01:22 UTC | info | related

 New Map Illustrates Risk From the 'Other' Malaria - on article in PLoS NTDNew Map Illustrates Risk From the Other MalariaGretchen VogelScience 329 (5992), 618 (06 Aug 2010)info:doi/10.1126/science.329.5992.618Nearly 3 billion people are at risk of infection with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax, according to a new analysis published this week in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The P. vivax parasite has long been considered the milder, less-dangerous cousin of P. falciparum. But recent studies have made clear that P. vivax can also cause deadly complications in infected people. A new map of areas where the parasite has been reported, and where conditions are right for mosquitoes to transmit it, should serve as a wake-up call for those who hope to eliminate malaria, epidemiologists say.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to Plasmodium vivax malaria on Thu Aug 05 2010 at 18:51 UTC | info | related

 BBC News - Malaria-proof mosquito engineered - on article in PLoS Pathogwww.bbc.co.ukScientists in the US have succeeded in genetically engineering a malaria-resistant mosquito. The researchers, from the University of Arizona, introduced a gene that affected the insect's gut, meaning the malaria parasite could not develop.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to mosquitoes plasmodium malaria on Mon Jul 26 2010 at 20:38 UTC | info | related

 Crystal Structure of Arginase from Plasmodium falciparum and Implications for l-Arginine Depletion in Malarial Infection,Daniel Dowling et al.Biochemistry 49 (26), 5600-8 (06 Jul 2010)Posted by kcops7 to malaria on Tue Jun 29 2010 at 17:05 UTC | info | related

 Cheryl Cole Hit By Malariawww.bloggerrise.comPosted by billah99 to Cheryl Hit Cole by malaria on Mon Jul 12 2010 at 15:23 UTC | info | related

 When Humans Left Africa, Malaria Came Along - on article in Current BiolWhen Humans Left Africa Malaria Came AlongMartin EnserinkScienceNOW, (18 Jun 2010)When humans left Africa some 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, some were already infected with the world's most deadly malaria parasites, a new study says. The findings contradict the view, held by some scientists, that malaria only began afflicting us about 10,000 years ago, around the time agriculture was invented. Transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, the Plasmodium falciparum parasite infects hundreds of millions of people every year and may kill more than a million. Researchers are still debating when this scourge first began afflicting us. Some have argued that a predecessor to the parasite must have infected the last common ancestor to humans and chimps, 6 million or 7 million years ago, and then co-evolved when Homo sapiens stepped onto the world stage in a process called cospeciation. In this scenario, a related species, P. reichenowi, co-evolved with chimpanzees. But others, such as famed evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala of the University of California, Irvine, argue that P. reichenowi jumped the species barrier from chimps to humans quite recently and then became P. falciparum. Ayala believes that this may have happened as recently as 10,000 years ago, when humans settled down and started farming; at that time, irrigation and huts would have created ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes to help the parasites spread. Genetic studies allowing scientists to draw the Plasmodium family tree should be able to settle the issue, but so far, there's no consensus. The new paper, published yesterday in Current Biology, doesn't quite solve the question of whether cospeciation occurred, but it claims that malaria couldn't possibly have arisen with the advent of agriculture. The authors, from 13 institutes on four continents, reasoned that if humans were suffering from malaria when they left the African continent, it should be evident in the genetic makeup of parasite populations in different parts of the world; the theory predicts that parasites farther away from Africa should be less diverse, just as is the case in humans. So the team analyzed hundreds of malaria samples from seven countries, sequencing two genes to determine genetic variability within each local population, all the way from West Africa to Indonesia and Oceania. (The Americas, where malaria is believed to have been introduced just several hundred years ago during the slave trade, were left out of the main analysis.) The researchers found that genetic diversity did indeed decrease at greater distances from Africa. The correlation is very strong, says lead author Francois Balloux of the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling in London, and the pattern matches human migration out of Africa, which scientists believe started some 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.Posted by NatureRevMicrobiol to plasmodium malaria on Sun Jun 20 2010 at 16:41 UTC | info | related

 The rise and fall of the antimalarial Lapdap: a lesson in pharmacogenetics : The Lancetwww.thelancet.comPosted by mattprice to malaria on Mon Jul 05 2010 at 04:18 UTC | info | related

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