CR1 and malaria: Emerging evidence indicates that the Dantu blood-group variant confers malaria protection via a dual biomechanical mechanism: a structurally altered, hybrid glycophorin elevates erythrocyte membrane tension, thereby impeding merozoite invasion (Kariuki et al., 2020), while concomitant reductions in cell size and surface-adhesion receptors (e.g., GYPA, CR1) density attenuate PfEMP1-mediated rosette formation and subsequent microvascular sequestration (Kariuki et al., 2020; Carlier et al., 2024).