Malaria kills over one million people a year. A promising candidate suitable for either a synthetic or a genetically engineered malaria vaccine has been synthesized. The molecule, a string of 4 amino acids repeated 3 times, is modeled on a surface component of sporozoites apparent when they are injected by a mosquito into a human. An immune response to the peptide might neutralize sporozoites before they are sequestered in host liver cells. The peptide reacted with antibodies in serum of randomly selected individuals living where malaria is endemic and with serum from a volunteer protected from infection by immunization with irradiated parasites. It induced antibodies in animals; the antibodies prevented the parasite from entering human cells growing in culture.