Scientists find way to stop malaria: let mosquitoes live

The Story in Brief

Times of India reports that Harvard researchers have tested a new way to use bed nets: instead of killing mosquitoes with insecticides, the nets deliver antiparasitic compounds that stop the malaria parasite from developing inside the insect. The 2025 study, published in Nature, screened 81 antimalarial compounds. Twenty-two showed activity against Plasmodium falciparum, but only a few worked when mosquitoes contacted the net with their legs alone.

The approach targets the parasite's life cycle inside the mosquito, not the mosquito itself. This matters because insecticide resistance is rising. In 2023, malaria caused an estimated 26.3 crore cases and 5.97 lakh deaths worldwide. Two modified endochin-like quinolones, ELQ-456 and ELQ-453, showed the strongest results in tarsal-contact experiments. Further testing is needed before the method can supplement existing tools.