If you're going to pursue an elusive killer, you sometimes have
to get creative. A pioneering study into malaria transmission in
Kenya, using data gleaned from the cell phones of nearly 15
million people, has given scientists new clues into how the
deadly disease spreads. By tracking the population's movement
over a year using cell phone data and comparing it with detailed
information on malaria infection rates across the country, the
study reveals how human travel contributes to the disease's
spread. The study, led by researchers at Harvard School of
Public Health and seven other institutions, could inform how
governments -- particularly in sub-Saharan Africa -- act in
future to control the disease's spread. Malaria deaths are
concentrated in that part of the continent. Published in the
journal Science on Thursday, the study, "Quantifying the impact
of human mobility on malaria," gives key insights into a disease
that kills a child a minute in Africa, according to the World
Health Organization. "This is the