Scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of the malaria-causing parasite, plasmodium vivax.
The parasite shows the same genetic variations despite being separated across different continents, raising concerns that mutations resistant to medications could spread across the world.
Studying the parasite has been difficult because it dies when removed from the host, but the 80,000 genetic markers from the sequence would help develop better understandings of the parasite.
Researchers are now hoping they can undertake genetic evolution studies to find out where the parasites evolved, monitor populations and learn how they are geographically distributed.
Read more at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute