Using the world's most powerful X-ray laser, scientists have exposed a possible Achilles' heel of the sleeping sickness parasite that threatens more than 60 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. The sophisticated analysis revealed the blueprint for a molecular plug that can selectively block a vital enzyme of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Plugging such a tailor-made molecule into the right place of the enzyme would render it inactive, thereby killing the parasite. The team led by DESY scientist Prof. Henry Chapman from the Center of Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Prof...
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