“…The researchers focused on TEP1, a protein in the mosquito’s immune system. When a mosquito is infected with a parasite that causes malaria, a biochemical reaction is triggered that physically transforms TEP1 into an active state capable of grabbing on to the parasite’s surface and targeting it for termination. In a study…the…group used a method called X-ray crystallography to uncover TEP1’s three-dimensional structure. They found that the genetic differences between mosquitoes that are resistant and those that are susceptible to the parasite mostly manifest in a region of the TEP1 protein dubbed “the warhead,” the portion that grabs the malarial parasite…” Full Slice

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