The pandemic put a spotlight on messenger RNA (mRNA). By now, many New Zealanders have had at least one mRNA vaccine, to train their immune system to fight off Covid-19, reducing the chance of severe symptoms and speeding recovery from the virus. Now, mRNA technology may also be the key to tackling many other diseases, including malaria, thanks to a new vaccine being developed by New Zealand and Australian researchers.
Globally, half a million people each year die from malaria. It is caused by a parasite called plasmodium that infects certain species of mosquito, which transmit it when they feed on