Fighting Malaria with a Medicinal Herb - Dec Cafe Scientifique
Programme Manager, CNAP Artemisia Research Project
Centre for Novel Agricultural Products,
Department of Biology, The University of York
Date: Wednesday 5 December
Venue: Mansion House, York
Time: 7.30pm
Cost: FREE
Malaria continues to be a global public health problem, killing between one and three million people every year and undermining development in some of world's poorest countries. What's worse, the malarial parasite has become immune to most of the medicines used for treatment.
The fight against this deadly disease now largely depends on a drug extracted from the aromatic herb Artemisia.
However, these new medicines are too expensive for many, largely because the Artemisia crop is little changed from its wild and weedy origins and yields of the active ingredient are low.
Find out how the latest genetic technologies are being used to fast-track the plant breeding of Artemisia, producing high-yielding, non-genetically modified varieties that will help to make one of the world's most important anti-malaria drugs more affordable to those in need.
Please note: Change of venue to Mansion House, York. Tickets are FREE but numbers attending are restricted so please book your place in advance: Contact E steve.plews@york.gov.uk or T 01904 554469. Also: Enjoy free mulled wine and mince pies.
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