Today in TechCould human-sized microwaves be an instant cure for malaria?
Malaria is a huge problem in many parts of the world. The disease, which is spread by tiny mosquitos, still claims the lives of nearly a million people each year. The hardest hit areas — mainly countries in sub-Saharan Africa — struggle both financially and logistically to obtain vaccines, and some new strains of the disease are growing immune to modern medicines. However, the solution might be simpler than anyone had guessed, and new research is underway that could produce an instant cure, in the form of human-sized microwave ovens.
The premise is simple: use low-power microwave radiation to kill the malaria parasites that wreak havoc in a person's blood stream. The parasites feed on blood cells, giving them a higher than average iron concentration than the tissue that surrounds them. The microwave energy heats up the microscopic parasites, causing them to explode and die instantly. Because of the low power of the microwaves used, no tissue is harmed during the procedure, and a person could potentially be cured of the disease in just a matter of seconds.
Research is still ongoing, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged money to a second round of testing. If successful, the microwave concept could prove to be a perfect solution for remote areas where a single, all-purpose curing station could be used indefinitely.
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