Sea cucumber - new 'weapon' against malaria

Nudibranchs (photos) produce a protein called lectin that weakens the development of malaria parasites. This can be seen as a promising new weapon in preventing the spread of this disease.

The international research group PLoS Pathogens, after studying the genetic aspects of mosquitoes, discovered lectin capable of disrupting the development of malaria parasites in mosquito stomachs. To stimulate mosquitoes to produce lectins , the researchers paired a part of the ginseng gene with mosquito genes.

Lectin is toxic to malaria parasites at an early stage, called ookinete . Often ookinete will move through the wall of the mosquito's stomach and create thousands of daughter cells that spread in the salivary glands and spread to humans when mosquitoes suck blood. But when introducing lectins, the ookinete will be killed before they transmit the disease.

It is estimated that around 500 million people worldwide suffer from malaria every year, with more than 1 million people killed.

Minh Anh