Intelligent comic educating researchers of tomorrow

An interactive comic book, produced at the University of Glasgow, will become the latest global educational tool in the fight against malaria as it is launched live online. 'Malaria: The Battle Against a Microscopic Killer', is an 'intelligent comic book' written by Edward Ross and Jamie Hall (a post-graduate student at the University of Glasgow, Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology) produced by the European Virtual Institute of Malaria Research (EVIMalaR), which is based at the University of Glasgow. It has been designed to engage the next generation of malaria researchers and allows students in schools and colleges around the world to learn about the disease, how it is transmitted and what the scientific community is doing to fight it. 'Malaria: The Battle Against a Microscopic Killer', describes the infection process, explaining how the malaria parasites enter the body and replicate whilst avoiding detection by the immune system. It also outlines the history of malaria research, from the pioneering experiments of nineteenth century scientists, right up to the modern day effort which involves the collaboration of multi-million pound research institutes and thousands of researchers around the world. The resource has already been translated into German, French, Portuguese, with Hindi Swahili and more languages planned in the near future, and will become a vital learning and teaching tool for use in schools and colleges around the world. Professor Andy Waters, Professor of Molecular and Developmental Parasitology at the University of Glasgow, said: "Malaria is currently wreaking inestimable havoc on the subtropical regions of the world.