Media sources report on two recently published studies — one in Genome Biology and the other in Nature — showing how the malaria parasite becomes resistant to insecticides and makes changes allowing it to infect humans.

Agence France-Presse: Revealed: How malaria parasite beats top insecticides
“Gene detectives on Tuesday said they had discovered how the parasite that causes malaria becomes resistant to DDT and to insecticides used in anti-malaria bednets. The secret lies in just one change in the DNA code on a single gene, they said…” (2/24).

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: Researchers at LSTM crack the genetic secret of mosquito resistance to DDT and bed net insecticides
“Researchers from LSTM have found that a single genetic mutation causes resistance to DDT and pyrethroids (an insecticide class used in mosquito nets)…” (2/25).

Health Canal: Malaria mystery solved by scientists
“Researchers have unlocked the long-standing mystery of how the malaria parasite initiates the process of passing from human to human…” (2/24).

The Hindu: Breakthrough in malaria research claimed
“Solving ‘a long-standing mystery in malaria biology’ is how researchers at the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge describe their recent breakthrough in malaria research…” (Menon, 2/25).