artemisinin

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Malaria Drugs Lose Punch in Key Region

Resistance grows in Burma, raising risk of major outbreak

(Newser) - Malaria researchers are watching with alarm as once-effective drugs lose their punch in a flashpoint region, reports the Guardian . New studies show that drugs based on the plant extract artemisinin are losing potency on the Burma-Thailand border. The problem started in Cambodia and is apparently spreading as counterfeit versions spring...

Cheap Malaria Drug Holds Promise for Millions

It's based on 2000-year-old herbal remedy

(Newser) - The lives of millions of children  may be saved by a new technique for producing a malaria drug at a 10th of the cost of current treatments, making it accessible the world's most impoverished people, reports the Independent.  The technique involves inserting a dozen synthetic genes into yeast cells,...

China to Test Controversial Malaria Treatment

Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance...

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