3 ms·
Obligatory reminder of the "fun" fact that sickle cell disease leads to a sort of partial malaria resistance, which explains its perseverance in the human gene
by folli 3y ago
Obligatory reminder of the "fun" fact that sickle cell disease leads to a sort of partial malaria resistance, which explains its perseverance in the human gene pool.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1804388115 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1804388115
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- galangalalgol 3y agoThey are trialing a malaria vaccine now too. What if at birth we all got that malaria vaccine and a crispr that made everyone a carrier of sickle cell, but not germ line. That seems like we could wipe out both sickle cell and malaria.
- bobthepanda 3y agohere's hoping. malaria is an interesting one where multiple antimalarials have been developed and then lost efficacy.
- pkaye 3y agoType O blood can also protect against severe malaria where the uninfected blood cells stick around one that is infected.
- pard68 3y agoThat's "sickle cell trait" which is when you are only carrier but do not have the disease. With the disease, malaria is even more deadly.