10,000-year-old disease that haunted Greeks and Chinese, weakened Civil War soldiers and caused 5% of 20th century deaths may finally have a weakness; Indian researchers find breakthrough

Scientists from India and Britain say they have identified a protein that controls how the malaria parasite divides and multiplies, a discovery that could lead to an entirely new class of drugs against one of history's most persistent killers.

The research, led by teams at the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council-National Institute of Immunology in Delhi and the University of Nottingham, centres on an enzyme called Aurora-related Kinase 1, or Ark1, which appears to act as a master switch in the malaria parasite's cell division process. The findings come at a moment when the world's existing arsenal of anti-malarial drugs is under growing threat from resistance.