SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists in Japan and France have identified a bacterium which appears to turn red plant lice green, enabling them to evade predators and thrive on crops.

The World Health Organisation warned Thursday that resistance to malaria drug artemisinin appeared to be spreading in the region from the Cambodia-Thailand border, where it was first detected.

UN health agency urges vigilance as drug-resistant malaria spreads in Southeast Asia. The World Health Organization says countries are not doing enough to detect drug-resistant malaria, which is spreading in Southeast Asia.

Malaria, downpours and drought: Report predicts major climate changes in India by 2030. A new report says India could be 2 degrees Celsius (3.8 F) warmer than 1970s levels within 20 years ? a change that would disrupt rain cycles and wreak havoc on the country's agriculture and freshwater supplies, experts said Wednesday.

"Since September last year, 260 people died of kala azar in southern Sudan, most of them children who suffer from malnutrition," said Abdinasir Abubakar, head of the WHO in southern Sudan.

Scientists release mutant mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands to fight dengue fever. Scientists have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said Thursday.

Scientists release mutant mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands to fight dengue fever. Scientists have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said Thursday.

Tropical disease kills 300 in Southern Sudan; more deaths expected from kala azar outbreak. An outbreak of a parasitic tropical disease has killed more than 300 people in Southern Sudan ? and the worst of the health crisis is yet to come, officials say.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's top drugmakers have slashed prices for medicines to fight AIDS and malaria. Now the debate is moving to the next level as pressure builds for them to do more against chronic diseases in poor countries.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba hopes to regain form after month-long bout with malaria. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has had malaria for a month and is only now regaining full strength because the illness was finally diagnosed on Monday.

Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba diagnosed with malaria. Chelsea's Didier Drogba has been treated for malaria and will be fit to face Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

The Ivory Coast international had been struggling with a previously unknown virus in recent weeks but blood tests have since confirmed it to be malaria.

Farmers plant, villagers dig, as Pakistan struggles out of the floods and back onto its feet. The floods that hammered Pakistan this summer took 2,000 lives and affected 20 million people, of whom 7 million remain homeless. At their peak, one-fifth of Pakistan was under water, more than 3 meters (10 feet) deep in some places.

Farmers plant, villagers dig, as Pakistan struggles out of the floods and back onto its feet. The floods that hammered Pakistan this summer took 2,000 lives and affected 20 million people, of whom 7 million remain homeless. At their peak, one-fifth of Pakistan was under water, more than 3 meters (10 feet) deep in some places.

Venezuelan health official says 17 Amazon Indians believed dead in malaria outbreak. A government health official said a team of specialists believe 17 Yanomami Indians have died in a malaria outbreak in the past three months ? a toll considerably lower than initially reported by indigenous health workers.

The protein, perforin, targets wayward cells and punches a hole in their membranes to let in killer enzymes, project leader James Whisstock said, adding the discovery "answers a really fundamental mystery of immunity".

Amazon Indians ravaged by apparent malaria epidemic, Venezuelan health workers say dozens dead. Venezuelan health workers say an epidemic that may be malaria has killed dozens of people, decimating three villages of the Yanomami Indians, whose struggle for survival in a remote part of the Amazon rain forest has attracted worldwide support.

Experts call for malaria to be eliminated, but say without a vaccine, it may be impossible. Eliminating malaria, the mosquito-borne scourge that kills more than 860,000 people a year, would be a dream come true for millions ? but medical experts say right now that goal remains completely unrealistic.

LONDON (Reuters) - Eliminating malaria can be achieved only with repeated investment over the long term and will require a major shift in policy and funding now focused on control of the disease, experts said on Friday.

Gates experimental grants move to the next level with more money for promising projects. A night light that scares away mosquitoes possibly carrying malaria is among nine ideas the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation thinks are worth more research dollars, after giving more than 300 scientists seed money to take an initial look at some far-out notions.