What is currently being done:
It is estimated that over $2 billion has been spent on controlling Malaria to date.
There are numerous campaigns to distribute Malaria nets to people in infected areas. Malaria nets are thin mesh coverings that provide a barrier for people against malaria. These nets can cover up to two people are very effective in preventing immediate infection from malaria. The problem with these nets is that they offer no protection against malaria when people are not covered by the net.
Other methods include using insecticides to kill off the anopheles mosquito that transmits malaria. While effective, the mosquito is known to grow a resistance to any insecticide that kills them off immediately. Funding is currently also being used to develop a malaria vaccine, but such a creation is still years away.
There are numerous campaigns to distribute Malaria nets to people in infected areas. Malaria nets are thin mesh coverings that provide a barrier for people against malaria. These nets can cover up to two people are very effective in preventing immediate infection from malaria. The problem with these nets is that they offer no protection against malaria when people are not covered by the net.
Other methods include using insecticides to kill off the anopheles mosquito that transmits malaria. While effective, the mosquito is known to grow a resistance to any insecticide that kills them off immediately. Funding is currently also being used to develop a malaria vaccine, but such a creation is still years away.
The world does not need another short term solution to the
malaria epidemic. It is time for an effective method to stop the spread of
malaria in the future so that the world's children can grow up in a safe
environment.
malaria epidemic. It is time for an effective method to stop the spread of
malaria in the future so that the world's children can grow up in a safe
environment.
How the fungus can help:
Insecticide uses:
Metarhizium Anisopliae is a widely distributed soil-inhabiting fungus. This fungus has been used as an insecticide and the disease it causes in insects is known as green muscardine disease, because of the green color of its spores. When these spores come in contact with the insect, they begin to germinate and the hyphae ( the long filament structures of the fungus ) enter into the insect host. Once inside, the fungus grows and kills the insect host within a few days.
Malaria Use:
Genetic Modification of the fungus led by an NIH-funded team led by Dr. Raymond J. St. Leger of the University
of Maryland has caused the fungus to specifically attack the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. This genetic modification of the fungus prevents the development of the malaria parasite, but does not cause the immediate death of the mosquito.
The fungus was changed by being genetically engineered to include two new genes. The first of these codes for the protein SM1. This protein closely resembles the protein that is used by the Plasmodium parasite to enter into the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito. In this way, the SM1 protein blocks the parasite from entering into the salivary glands. This is a great benefit because the Plasmodium parasite is transmitted to humans through the mosquito bite. By preventing Plasmodium from entering the salivary glands, the Plasmodium is unable to enter humans and cause Malaria. The second genetic modification causes the fungus to produce the protein scorpine, found in the Emperor scorpion. This protein causes the death of the actual Plasmodium parasite because it compromises the structural integrity of the cell and its plasma membrane.
Studies have shown that this combination of genetic modifications has been very effective in lowering the number of Plasmodium parasites in mosquitoes. Six days after the spores of the fungus entered the mosquito, the amount of Plasmodium was reduced by 98%. When the modified fungus was used to infect Anopheles mosquitoes, it expressed the antimalaria effector(An organ or cell that acts in response to a stimulus) molecules in the mosquito hemolymph(A fluid equivalent to blood in most invertebrates). When several different effector molecules were coexpressed, malaria levels in the mosquito salivary glands were inhibited by up to 98% compared with controls.
Malare-Aware's idea is to put together the genetically modified fungus and the idea of the insecticide spray to create an Anti-Malaria spray.
Metarhizium Anisopliae is a widely distributed soil-inhabiting fungus. This fungus has been used as an insecticide and the disease it causes in insects is known as green muscardine disease, because of the green color of its spores. When these spores come in contact with the insect, they begin to germinate and the hyphae ( the long filament structures of the fungus ) enter into the insect host. Once inside, the fungus grows and kills the insect host within a few days.
Malaria Use:
Genetic Modification of the fungus led by an NIH-funded team led by Dr. Raymond J. St. Leger of the University
of Maryland has caused the fungus to specifically attack the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. This genetic modification of the fungus prevents the development of the malaria parasite, but does not cause the immediate death of the mosquito.
The fungus was changed by being genetically engineered to include two new genes. The first of these codes for the protein SM1. This protein closely resembles the protein that is used by the Plasmodium parasite to enter into the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito. In this way, the SM1 protein blocks the parasite from entering into the salivary glands. This is a great benefit because the Plasmodium parasite is transmitted to humans through the mosquito bite. By preventing Plasmodium from entering the salivary glands, the Plasmodium is unable to enter humans and cause Malaria. The second genetic modification causes the fungus to produce the protein scorpine, found in the Emperor scorpion. This protein causes the death of the actual Plasmodium parasite because it compromises the structural integrity of the cell and its plasma membrane.
Studies have shown that this combination of genetic modifications has been very effective in lowering the number of Plasmodium parasites in mosquitoes. Six days after the spores of the fungus entered the mosquito, the amount of Plasmodium was reduced by 98%. When the modified fungus was used to infect Anopheles mosquitoes, it expressed the antimalaria effector(An organ or cell that acts in response to a stimulus) molecules in the mosquito hemolymph(A fluid equivalent to blood in most invertebrates). When several different effector molecules were coexpressed, malaria levels in the mosquito salivary glands were inhibited by up to 98% compared with controls.
Malare-Aware's idea is to put together the genetically modified fungus and the idea of the insecticide spray to create an Anti-Malaria spray.