Plague News and Research

RSS

New strain of coronavirus sparks concerns of a wider outbreak throughout China

Reports of a new strain of coronavirus causing pneumonia-like symptoms in the central Chinese city of Wuhan have sparked concerns of a wider outbreak throughout China and possibly in other countries.

21 Jan 2020

Researchers discover how bacterial pathogens switch into attack mode

Many bacterial pathogens excrete toxins as soon as they have entered the host in order to suppress its immune response.

21 Jan 2020

Using bacterial nano-syringes as drug transporters in medicine

Pathogens can use a range of toxins to damage their host organism. Bacteria, such as those responsible for causing the deadly Plague, use a special injection mechanism to deliver their poisonous contents into the host cell.

17 Dec 2019

Dendritic cells could lead to better treatments for persistent infections, cancer

Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease plague tens of millions of Americans and are the result of the body's immune system, whose role is to fight against disease-causing pathogens, turning against itself.

12 Dec 2019

“Tic-Tac-Toe” tackles Alzheimer’s disease

Drawing on multiple scientific disciplines, a new team is gearing up for a fresh onslaught on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the extremely common age-related condition associated with loss of memory and disability.

3 Dec 2019

Justinianic plague did not wipe out the Romans as history books tell us

A new study has revealed that it was not plague that killed half of the world’s population and thus proved to be the downfall of the Roman Empire as we know from history. The study was published this week in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study involved scholars from different fields including history, archaeology and science. The study is titled, “The Justinianic Plague: An inconsequential pandemic?”

3 Dec 2019

Communication key in preventing AIDS, say health organizations

Repeating the message of so many years, World AIDS Day has come and gone. This year, the focus was on improving communication between the “victims” and the healthcare providers so that the former can get the care they need without having to come to terms with their lifestyle choices.

2 Dec 2019

Researchers develop new technology to inhibit the development of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and their partners at Bar Ilan University have developed new technology to inhibit the development of Alzheimer's disease.

18 Nov 2019

Study shows effects of wartime stressors and mental health conditions among women veterans

Vietnam-era women veterans suffer with stress-related mental health conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression and generalized anxiety disorder, more than four decades after their service.

18 Nov 2019

The Black Death still lurks all over the world

Beijing, the capital of the economic giant, China, is in the news currently for a far different reason – two patients have developed pneumonic plague. The patients, who hail from Inner Mongolia’s northwestern corner, are being treated at a high-level hospital there, amidst 21 million other people. The health authorities say they have put in place adequate protection and control measures to keep the plague from spreading.

17 Nov 2019

CSU awarded $1.2 million subcontract to accelerate tuberculosis vaccine development

A team of researchers in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology at Colorado State University aim to advance what is known about the complex immune response necessary to prevent tuberculosis disease.

15 Nov 2019

Uncovering the secret weapon of rabies viruses

In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, scientists have discovered the exact site at which the immune system is disabled by the rabies virus, opening the way for a new and highly effective means of rabies prevention. This is a long-awaited discovery and could transform the field of rabies immunization.

13 Nov 2019

Opioid overdose treatment: intranasal vs intramuscular naloxone

Opioid addiction and dependency have become a common plague in many countries of the world. Accompanying these conditions, opioid overdose is being increasingly encountered in many emergency settings. The standard and highly effective antidote for this is naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist which has been in use for over 4 decades.

13 Nov 2019

Russian scientists explain how an additional component can triple vaccine efficiency

A team of Russian scientists carried out a study on the cell immunity level and found out how an adjuvant called azoximer bromide increases the immunogenicity of the anti-flu vaccine.

12 Nov 2019

Popular health campaigns aren’t always the most productive, says new study

Researchers have found that just because a public health campaign is popular among the digital community, it doesn’t mean it will produce gains in healthy behavior. This study, published in Lancet Oncology, concludes that in addition to attractive slogans or easy-to-understand captions and images, the relevance of the focused health issue to the target audience and to current guidelines may guide audience behavior.

31 Oct 2019

Researchers develop new genomic analysis method for identifying Yersinia strains

The Yersinia genus covers a vast range of bacteria that are distinguished by criteria such as whether or not they are able to cause disease (their pathogenicity).

29 Oct 2019

In Hamburg, ‘Gesundheit’ means more than a wish for good health

Researchers around the world hail Germany for its robust health care system: universal coverage, plentiful primary care, low drug prices and minimal out-of-pocket costs for residents.

18 Oct 2019

NIH awards $30 million to accelerate progress in TB vaccine development

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded $30 million in first-year funding to establish new centers for immunology research to accelerate progress in tuberculosis vaccine development.

26 Sep 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Impeachment and the health agenda

How will the impeachment effort on Capitol Hill affect work on other legislation, particularly bills to restrain the cost of prescription drugs and surprise medical bills? And will Congress and President Donald Trump be able to agree on the spending bills needed to keep the federal government open for business?

26 Sep 2019

"Australian" genetic mutation provides clues to Alzheimer’s mechanism

In an astonishing new breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research, the molecular basis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and age-linked AD has been identified by looking at one type of genetic mutation.

26 Aug 2019