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Article: The malaria parasite: change and conquer. (attack strategies of parasites)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- June 27, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A parasitic relationship resembles a biological arms race. Over evolutionary time, an infected host puts up a new defense to stave off a parasite, only to have that parasite evade the defense and sharpen its skills for circumventing the host's next defensive strategy. And so on, and so on, in a biochemical escalation process that usually ends with the parasite attaining the upper hand.
This change-and-conquer strategy has made it particularly difficult for scientists to develop vaccines against parasites, including the most dangerous malaria organism, Plasmodium falciparum (SN: 5/4/91, p.276). Now, researchers led by David J. Roberts of John Radcliffe Hospital ...