It was recently discovered that many people of African origin harbor a high frequency of mutations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that cause a deficiency in the CD36 gene, yet they still suffer from severe (particularly cerebral) malaria (Aitman et al., 2000; Gelhaus et al., 2001; Chilongola et al., 2009; Fry et al., 2009). Here, CD36 is linked to malaria.