"Some people, particularly those living in fuel poverty, are unlikely to heat a building enough - or ventilate it sufficiently - to prevent the presence of damp and mould, factors that we know can contribute to asthma," Sharpe explained. The research team assessed data from the residents of 700 properties in Cornwall.

The researchers pointed out that poorly ventilated homes are also likely to increase people's exposure to other biological, chemical and physical contaminants. The study pointed to other possible factors which can affect health in homes with high humidity, such as house dust mites and bacteria.

Besides, the behaviour of occupants can increase the indoor humidity at a property, a problem which is sometimes worsened by energy efficient efforts to seal cracks and gaps, the researchers noted. The study appeared in the journal Environment International.

This is quite different from past instances with former first-line drugs, when complex sets of multiple mutations were required and resistance spread only as the mutated parasites spread. Though malaria deaths have dropped by 30 percent worldwide since the introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) in the late 1990s, these gains are now threatened by the emergence of resistance in Southeast Asia. No alternative therapy is currently available to replace ACTs.

The study, published in the journal Science, builds on a recent report that mutations in the gene -K13 - are frequently found in drug-resistant parasites in Southeast Asia. The good news is that K13 mutations produce a relatively weak resistance. K13 mutations enable the parasite to hide in red blood cells in a developmental state that is naturally less vulnerable to artemisinin.

"This allows them to temporarily survive treatment, but it will not be enough for ACTs to fail across Africa, particularly as the partner drugs continue to be highly effective," Fidock noted. But it may be a foundation for parasites to evolve stronger degrees of resistance to these therapies, so we have to watch for increasing resistance very carefully, he suggested. This finding provides public health officials around the world with a way to look for pockets of emerging resistance and potentially eliminate them before they spread.

Although the study does not show a causal relationship between sugar hypersensitivity and overeating but it does support the idea that an obese youth may have a heightened psychological reward response to food. This elevated sense of "food reward" - which involves being motivated by food and deriving a good feeling from it could mean some children have brain circuitries which predispose them to crave more sugar throughout life.

For the study, the researchers scanned the brains of 23 children, ranging in age from 8 to 12, while they tasted one-fifth of a teaspoon of water mixed with sucrose (table sugar). The children were directed to swirl the sugar-water mix in the mouth with their eyes closed, while focusing on its taste. The brain images showed that obese children had heightened activity in the regions of brain involved in perception, emotion, awareness, taste, motivation and reward. The study appeared in the journal International Journal of Obesity.