Molecular approaches to malaria: seeking the whole picture

This year, Australia hosted its first major international conference on malaria - Molecular Approaches to Malaria in Lorne, Victoria, 2-5 February 2000 (MAM2000). The worldwide research effort toward a better understanding of the pathogenesis and control of malaria in the post-genomic era was discussed and debated by over 250 researchers from 18 countries during four days packed with molecular biology, cell biology, genomics, vaccines and pathogenic mechanisms. This special malaria edition of Parasitology Today is an attempt to capture and summarize the quality and breadth of work presented at the conference and place this in the context of the current global malaria research effort; eight of the nine Reviews in this issue have been written by session chairs or presenters at MAM2000.