Even though malaria still kills one child every minute, the vast majority of those infected still survive, with roughly 200 million new infections every year. A new study has shown that the infectious agent responsible for malaria, the Plasmodium parasite, is able to to sense and actively adapt to the host’s nutritional status. Using mouse models of malaria infection, scientists led by Maria M. Mota from Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon (iMM Lisboa), found that mice who ate 30% fewer calories had a significantly lower parasite load.