Parasite Poo Detector

When the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasite chomps through red blood cells, it leaves a tell-tale trace of magnetic poo as it digests iron-rich haemoglobin. The discovery that this waste product, called haemozoin, can be detected by Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry (MRR) scanning has created the intriguing possibility of a new test for the disease. More than 200 million people are infected with malaria each year and many die because regions where it’s endemic lack the facilities for diagnosis. A standard test is to examine a smear of blood under a microscope – pictured is a sample showing dots, stained purple, that are characteristic of blood cells infected with two common varieties of Plasmodium. Scientists who developed the magnetic scanning test claim it could provide a simpler, faster, more accurate and cheaper alternative to the existing method.

Written by Mick Warwicker

Mick Warwicker

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A freelance communications consultant and writer, Mick specialises in science and education. A science graduate and award-winning print and broadcast journalist, he was Head of Communications at Newcastle University from 2000–2011.

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• Image by Osaro Erhabor
• Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria
• Copyright held by original author
• Research published in Nature Medicine, August 2014