Press Releases

Published in Press Releases, the 01/07/2022

A scientist from the University of Nottingham has received nearly £2.5 million from the European Research Council (ERC), to continue her research into the understanding of rapid atypical cell division, which could help to control transmission of malaria.

Professor Rita Tewari from the School of Life Sciences at the University is one of only 253 leading researchers from across Europe who will receive the funding as part of the ERC’s 2021 Advanced Grants Competition.

Published in Press Releases, the 06/03/2020

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding how the parasite that causes malaria is able to multiply at such an alarming rate, which could be a vital clue in discovering how it has evolved, and how it can be stopped.

Published in Press Releases, the 31/08/2018

On World Mosquito Day, Edward Rea, a research fellow working on malaria parasite cell biology and development with Professor Rita Tewari, discusses why the fight against this mosquito-borne disease is far from over.

Published in Press Releases, the 05/07/2017

Science initiated in Nottingham has helped to form the foundation for the latest breakthrough in the global fight against malaria.

Researchers in the University of Nottingham’s School of Life Sciences were responsible for the identification of the molecular switches that control the three key stages of the malaria parasite’s life cycle – work which has underpinned a new discovery about the way in which the growth of the parasite is controlled.

Now, a team of international scientists led by Portuguese academics has discovered that one of the proteins identified by the Nottingham experts plays a vital role in modulating the parasite’s rate of replication by sensing the nutritional status of its host.

Published in Press Releases, the 14/11/2015

The key to malaria's rampant growth has been explained by scientists. They say it is down to protein molecules called cyclins which cause cells to divide rapidly in the malaria parasite. The study, led by a team from the University of Nottingham, could lead to new treatments for malaria, the researchers said.

Published in Press Releases, the 13/11/2015

Scientists from The University of Nottingham have uncovered the role of cyclin - the protein molecule that drives the growth of malaria within mosquitoes.

The research, led by Professor Rita Tewari and Dr Bill Wickstead in the University’s School of Life Sciences and published in the scientific journal PLoS Pathogens (: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005273 ), could pave the way to better understanding of how the malaria parasite thrives within its insect and human hosts and lead to potential new treatments.

Published in Press Releases, the 09/07/2014

Scientists searching for new drug and vaccine targets to stop transmission of one of the world’s deadliest diseases believe they are closer than ever to disrupting the life-cycle of this highly efficient parasite.

Dr Rita Tewari in the School of Life Sciences at The University of Nottingham has completed what she describes as a ‘Herculean study’ into the roles played by the 30 protein phosphatases and 72 kinases – enzymes that act as the ‘yin and yang’ switches for proteins – as the malaria parasite develops in the body and then in the mosquito gut.

Published in Press Releases, the 09/07/2014

Scientists searching for new drug and vaccine targets to stop transmission of one of the world's deadliest diseases believe they are closer than ever to disrupting the life cycle of this highly efficient parasite.

The findings come from research into the roles played by protein phosphatases - enzymes that act as 'on' and 'off' switches for proteins - as the malaria parasite develops in the body and then in the mosquito gut.

Published in Press Releases, the 10/03/2013

Scientists have discovered how a protein within the malaria parasite is essential to its survival as it develops inside a mosquito. They believe their findings identify this protein as a potential new target for drug treatments to prevent malaria being passed to humans.

Published in Press Releases, the 22/02/2013

Experts have disabled a unique member of the signalling proteins which are essential for the development of the malaria parasite.

They have produced a mutant lacking the ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced 'shelph').

This mutant is unable to complete its complex life cycle and is arrested in its development in the mosquito. The discovery could help in the design of new drugs to arrest the spread of this killer disease.

The findings of their latest study are published on 21st February 2013, in the journal Cell Reports. (: 10.1016/j.celrep.2013.01.032 )

Link: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2013/february/malaria-on-the-shelph.aspx

Published in Press Releases, the 20/09/2012

Scientists have discovered a unique enzyme that is a key player in enabling the malaria parasite to invade mosquitoes, raising hopes that the discovery could eventually lead to new strategies to prevent the spread of this deadly disease.

The work was a collaborative effort by scientists at the MRC's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR; now part of the Francis Crick Institute) and colleagues from the Universities of Nottingham, Oxford, Edinburgh, Leicester and Imperial College London.

Published in Press Releases, the 26/03/2012

A consortium of chemists, structural biologists and parasitologists has discovered a series of N-myristoyl transferase inhibitors and identified the features necessary for their novel mode of binding to the enzyme. The work is published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (: 10.1021/jm300040p).

Published in Press Releases, the 23/02/2012

Scientists have discovered a new target in their fight against the devastating global disease ‘malaria’ thanks to the discovery of a new protein involved in the parasite’s life cycle.

The research has uncovered a vital player in the sexual phase of the malaria parasite’s reproduction which could prove an effective target for new treatments to stop the disease in its tracks.

Published in Press Releases, the 20/10/2010

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

Their research which has been funded by Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council (MRC) is a significant breakthrough in the search for cheap and effective vaccines and drugs to stop the transmission of a disease which kills up to a million children a year.

Until now little has been known about the cellular processes involved in the development of this deadly disease. The research, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe (: 10.1016/j.chom.2010.09.006 ), involved the very first comprehensive functional analysis of protein kinases in any malaria parasite. It is also the largest gene knock-out study in Plasmodium berghei — a malaria parasite infecting rodents.

Link: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2010/october/malariaresearch.aspx

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