Henry Lai, UW research professor of bioengineering, says the malaria parasite Plasmodium appears to lose vigor and can die when exposed to oscillating magnetic fields, which Lai thinks may cause tiny iron-containing particles inside the parasite to move in ways that damage the organism. According to the World Health Organization, as many as 2.7 million people die of malaria every year, approximately 1 million of those children. In the past two decades, the emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites has created enormous problems in controlling the disease. Lai says his method could bypass those concerns because it is unlikely Plasmodium could develop a resistance to magnetic fields.
Malaria is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes.
The organism first invades the liver, then re-emerges into the bloodstream and attacks red blood cells. Infected blood cells can block blood vessels to the brain, causing seizures and death. Other vital organs are also at risk. Lai's research appears to take advantage of how the parasites feed. They break down the globin portion of the hemoglobin molecule, but the iron portion, or the heme, is left intact because the parasite lacks the enzyme needed to degrade it.