A new report estimates the possibility of ending malaria in countries that have the deadliest form of the disease. Researchers found that this could be possible in most parts of the world within ten to fifteen years. What it would require, they say, is reducing the spread of malaria by ninety percent from two thousand seven rates.

FAITH LAPIDUS: An international team created mathematical models and maps of areas where the disease is gone or almost gone. The report says malaria could be eliminated if countries are serious about using proven control measures like insecticides and bed nets.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partly financed the research. The study appears in The Lancet medical journal.

Some malaria experts expressed concern about giving too much attention to eliminating the disease. They say such a goal could take many years, if it is possible at all. The concern is that resources for controlling malaria could be lost if the money is spent instead on efforts to defeat it.

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BOB DOUGHTY: A new study shows that long, severe droughts may strike countries with large populations in the not-so-distant future. The study was made for America’s National Center for Atmospheric Research.

NCAR scientist Aiguo Dai led the research. It shows that drought conditions will threaten most of North and South America by the end of this century. The research found that large parts of Eurasia, Africa and Australia are also at risk. But places from Alaska to northern Europe may get more rainfall and snow. The findings appeared in the publication “Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change.”