Researchers have developed a method that allows resting human immune cells to be genetically analyzed in detail for the first time.
Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant evolved to evade our innate immune system
The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant mutated to evade our ‘innate immune system’, helping establish it as the world’s first ‘Variant of Concern’, a new study finds.
Researchers lay groundwork for potential dog-allergy vaccine
Scientists have identified a series of molecular candidates for those parts of dog allergens that cause immune reactions in people–the first step in developing a vaccine against most causes of dog allergies.
T cells: No time to die
They are at the forefront in the fight against viruses, bacteria, and malignant cells: the T cells of our immune system. But the older we get, the fewer of them our body produces. Thus, how long we remain healthy also depends on how long the T cells su…
Toxoplasma parasites manipulate brain cells to survive
Researchers have discovered that Toxoplasma parasites lay dormant and undetected inside neurons (brain cells) and muscle cells by releasing proteins that switch off the cells’ ability to alert the immune system.
New research moves closer to harnessing viruses to fight bacteria and reduce antibiotic use
A new study has cast new light on how to best combine antibiotics and phage therapy. Researchers conducted laboratory experiments on Pseudomonas aeruginosa a bacterium which causes disease in immunocompromised and cystic fibrosis patients. They exposed…
Breakthrough infections generate ‘super immunity’ to COVID-19, study suggests
Breakthrough infections greatly enhance immune response to variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new research. The study is the first to use live SARS-CoV-2 variants to measure cross-neutralization of blood serum from breakthrough ca…
Nanoparticle therapeutic enhances cancer immunotherapy
Researchers have discovered that a nanoparticle therapeutic enhances cancer immunotherapy and is a possible new approach in treating malignant pleural effusion (MPE). MPE is the accumulation of fluid between the chest wall and lungs and is accompanied …
New potential treatment for graft-versus-host-disease and other inflammatory disorders
Researchers have shown that blocking IL-6 and TNF cytokines provides a more effective approach to preventing life-threatening graft-versus-host-disease, an inflammatory condition that develops in patients after their allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell …
New study reveals how epithelial cells in the body naturally eliminate ‘precancerous’ ones
Normal epithelial cells show the ability to push out precancerous ones present in the epithelium, by means of ‘cell competition.’ But the exact molecular mechanism of this recognition by normal epithelial cells was unknown. Now, researchers have unrave…