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Nature 452, 157-158 (13 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/452157a; Published online 12 March 2008

Drug discovery: Fresh hope to can the worms

Roger K. Prichard1 & Timothy G. Geary1

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Parasitic worms kill many livestock, and the drugs used against them are becoming less effective. The discovery of a class of compounds that kills worms resistant to existing drugs is thus a welcome development.

The scourge of parasitic nematodes in farm animals is rising1, as these worms increasingly develop resistance to the drugs — known as anthelmintics — that are used against them. For example, drug-resistant strains of Haemonchus contortus (Fig. 1