The deciphering of the complete genome of the malaria parasite ushers in entirely new approaches to developing vaccines and drugs against this ancient pathogen. To conquer, or even control, malaria we need to fully understand the parasite's biology. Co-evolving with us over millennia, it has developed sophisticated tactics to survive our immune defences, and more than any other disease has spurred changes to the human genome itself. The deadliest of the malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, is thought to have originated more than 100,000 years ago, coinciding with the geographical expansion of humans out of Africa. We have been battling it ever since.
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