Scientists map genetic code of malaria parasite. (Environmental Intelligence).

In October 2002, a group of international scientists announced that they had successfully mapped the genetic code of both the deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and the mosquito that transmits this parasite to people, Anopheles gambiae.

The genetic sequencing, a major breakthrough in the battle against malaria, will help scientists uncover vulnerabilities in the genetic make-up of the parasite and its vector. The research has already led to new insights into how malaria works. Compared to other microbes, for example, it appears that a large share of the parasite's genes are dedicated to evading human immunity.

Genome scientists said the malaria parasite was the toughest sequencing job they have ever taken on. The complex parasite has a multi-stage lifecycle that includes an asexual form that thrives in human red blood cells and a sexual stage that develops in the mosquito vector. To decode A. gambiae, researchers sequenced randomly selected DNA segments from the genome and pieced them together based on overlapping matches.

Scientists plan to use the research to focus on developing desperately needed anti-malarial therapies, including environmentally sound insecticides, new families of affordable drugs, and vaccines. About 2.5 billion people--40 percent of the human population--are at risk of contracting the disease. Almost 5,000 people, primarily children in sub-Saharan Africa, die from malaria every day. While molecular science has a role to play in the global fight against malaria, most malaria victims lack the resources to pay for even the most basic anti-malarial tools that are currently available, such as bed nets and medicines.