Life begins at 40

Desertmar asked about the big spider trees and the reduction of malaria. I’m filching the nice caption explaining the life cycle of the organisms that cause malaria, Plasmodium spp. Plasmodium is a protozoa that requires mosquitoes to be vectors to spread the organism and needs them (as well as the human) to go through the life cycle and multiply.  Mosquito nets can be extremely helpful in areas with malaria to reduce exposure to mosquitoes.  I also remember when we learned about sickle cell anemia in various classes in vet school that sickle cell anemia is prevalent in people who live in areas (or have ancestry) where malaria is prevalent.  The Plasmodium organism can’t live in a sickled red blood cell and I remember hearing about it being an adaptation (albeit not a good adaptation) to the disease.  That kind of not so great adaptation is thought to be behind cystic fibrosis which is a mutation of a chloride channel in the cell (and is prevalent in people who live or have ancestry in places where cholera is/was endemic). I could say more but then I’ll never publish this post and instead frantically keep trying to edit the draft and then finally give up.

Here’s lots of info about malaria at the CDC website.

(I can’t really help with the spider thing - *shudder*)

The P.vivax life cycle involves two hosts. During a blood meal, a malaria-infected female Anopheles mosquito inoculates sporozoites into the human host (1). Sporozoites infect liver cells (2) and either enter a dormant hypnozoite state or mature into schizonts (3), which rupture and release merozoites (4). After this initial replication in the liver (exo-erythrocytic schizogony A), the parasites undergo asexual multiplication in the erythrocytes (erythrocytic schizogony B). Merozoites infect red blood cells (5). The ring stage trophozoites mature into schizonts, which rupture releasing merozoites (6). Some parasites differentiate into sexual erythrocytic stages (gametocytes) (7). Blood stage parasites are responsible for the clinical manifestations of the disease.

The gametocytes, male (microgametocytes) and female (macrogametocytes), are ingested by an Anopheles mosquito during a blood meal (8). The parasites’ multiplication in the mosquito is known as the sporogonic cycle ©. While in the mosquito’s stomach, the microgametes penetrate the macrogametes generating zygotes (9). The zygotes in turn become motile and elongated (ookinetes) (10) which invade the midgut wall of the mosquito where they develop into oocysts (11). The oocysts grow, rupture, and release sporozoites (12), which make their way to the mosquito’s salivary glands. Inoculation of the sporozoites (1) into a new human host perpetuates the malaria life cycle. (via Plasmodium vivax)