Malaria’s sweet spot
A sugar molecule in the guts of mosquitoes is crucial in spreading the malaria parasite from person to insect to person, scientists have discovered.
After a mosquito takes blood from an infected person, parasites in that blood must bind to the inner wall of the insect’s gut and then pass through it. Sugar molecules called chondroitin glycosaminoglycans cover the cells that form the wall’s surface, and these molecules give the parasite a place to grab on, the research shows.