By Mary Carmichael : November 3, 2010
A new malaria vaccine, a plan to immunize mosquitoes, and other "crazy" ideas have brightened prospects for vanquishing this killer
Vaccines against malaria have encountered repeated failures. New technological approaches have revived the push for an agent that would provide lifelong immunity.
Late-stage clinical trials will finish this winter on a vaccine that has been under development since the 1980s. It could reduce cases of the most lethal form of malaria by half.
Even as this work moves forward, researchers are proceeding with other strategies for new vaccines, such as a weakened form of the parasite that is cultured in mosquitoes.
Because malaria has been so hard to fight in the past, researchers must moderate outsize expectations to keep hopes from being dashed yet another time if new vaccine candidates fail.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=halting-the-worlds-most-lethal-parasite
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