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Drug discovery

Fat-free proteins kill parasites

The addition of a fatty acid to certain proteins is vital for the survival of protozoa that cause sleeping sickness and of their mammalian hosts. Compounds that target this process in the protozoa are now reported.

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Figure 1: A forgotten disease.

EYE OF SCIENCE/SPL; A. CRUMP, TDR, WHO/SPL

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Cross, G. Fat-free proteins kill parasites. Nature 464, 689–690 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/464689a

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