Microwave Malaria Away

As the climate heats up (something the Master of the Key warned Whitley about), countries north of the equator may have the same of mosquito-borne diseases that plague tropical countries now. But a cure may be on the way: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $1 million into a plan to treat malaria by sticking the infected part of a patient into a microwave and "baking" it away.

The microwave will be set on very low power, so it won’t burn the patient’s skin, but it may be enough to kill the malaria. In the August 23rd edition of the New York Times, Donald G. McNeil Jr. quotes microbiologist Jose A. Stoute as saying, "There’s a lot of data on mice exposed to microwaves, so we think we’ll be able to stay well below their level of safety (but) you can’t do this with a kitchen microwave."

The red cells that contain the malaria parasites float in the bloodstream next to healthy red cells, but the damage the microwave does to the parasites won’t effect the healthy cells because malaria parasites invade red blood cells and consume the hemoglobin inside them. Hemoglobin contains iron and you can’t microwave metal, so the waves will bounce off the healthy, hemoglobin-rich cells in the same way they bounce off a foil pan you try to heat up. Stoute’s goal is to create an airport-style scanner that would cure malaria as people walked through it.

Meanwhile, scientists have discovered that strains of a bacterium commonly found in fruit flies can prevent the mosquitoes from transmitting the virus that causes dengue fever. This discovery could lead to a more effective way to control dengue worldwide. Researcher Alun Lloyd says, "This is a simple, non-chemical, non-harmful way to reduce the threat of dengue to humans. It could have a transformative effect on the health of literally millions of people worldwide."

In 1998, the Master of the Key burst into Whitley Strieber’s hotel room and told him amazing things, including a warning about an upcoming climate change which has now ARRIVED. You can get a copy of the book (based on MOTKE’S information) that started it all–"The Coming Global Superstorm"–from our NEW Whitley Strieber Collection that comes with a special bookplate signed by Whitley!