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The BBC reports that scientists in Australia have made what could be a major breakthrough in the treatment of malaria.

The malaria parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - effectively hijacks the red blood cells it invades, changing their shape and physical properties dramatically.

Among the changes it triggers is the production of the glue-like substance, which enables the infected cells to stick to the walls of the blood vessels.

This stops them being passed through the spleen, where the parasites would usually be destroyed by the immune system.

A team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne has determined that particular proteins in the parasite's DNA are responsible for the production of the gluey substance. Removing any one of them prevented the parasites from being able to stick to blood vessels, stripping away their main defense against the host body.

While malaria is both preventable and curable, it can be fatal - especially among children - if not treated promptly. More than 500 million people are infected every year and more than a million die, many of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. But with this new discovery comes the possibility of a new, more effective treatment - or even a vaccine.