immunity News and Research

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Maintaining social distancing and using face masks could help avoid a second COVID-19 wave

Individual behavior has a significant effect on preventing a large second wave of COVID-19 infections. In fact, maintaining social distancing and other interventions such as the use of face masks and hand hygiene could remove the need for future lockdowns, according to a modeling study performed by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, an institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

22 Jun 2020

The role of brain cells in spreading HIV

Dr. Lena Al-Harthi speaks to News-Medical about her research into HIV treatment and the role of brain cells in spreading the HIV virus.

22 Jun 2020

Synthetic peptide could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Ligandal, one of the world’s leading genetic medicine companies, has modeled a synthetic peptide that could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

22 Jun 2020

A highly sensitive and specific antibody test for COVID-19

A new proof-of-concept study by UK researchers, currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, describes the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that can be used when lower levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) specific-antibodies are present in serum and saliva samples.

21 Jun 2020

Balanced B and T cell response required to control SARS-CoV-2

A new study by researchers in the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 describes the differences in T and B cell responses seen in patients with severe COVID-19.

21 Jun 2020

New adjuvant helps induce long-lasting immunity against HIV

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Emory Vaccine Center (EVC) are first to show a new adjuvant, 3M-052, helps induce long-lasting immunity against HIV.

20 Jun 2020

MMR vaccine could offer protection against COVID-19

Administering the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine could serve as a preventive measure to dampen septic inflammation associated with COVID-19 infection, say a team of experts in this week's mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

19 Jun 2020

Characterizing "re-positives" in recovered COVID-19 patients

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been spreading silently or explosively in almost every country of the world, causing almost half a million deaths and nearly 8.5 million reported cases in just six months. While much is known about the virus and the illness by now, far more remains unclear. One such is the prevalence and persistence of antiviral immunity following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

19 Jun 2020

Researchers find prothrombotic antibodies in patients with COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, researchers are still trying to understand the many ways in which it can manifest and its pathogenesis. A new report published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 shows that one possible mechanism of disease in COVID-19 is the production of antiphospholipid antibodies.

19 Jun 2020

Throat gargling may be beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers from Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taiwan, have suggested that throat gargling may have beneficial effects during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

18 Jun 2020

Study: Vitamin D can reduce side effects associated with chemotherapy

As many cancer patients will confirm, the chemotherapy prescribed to kill the disease is often more debilitating than the cancer itself, with a range of horrendous side effects.

18 Jun 2020

Japanese health supplement could help tackle Covid-19 in people with comorbid conditions

A unique Beta 1,3-1,6 Glucan based Japanese health supplement, produced by black yeast, Aureobasidium Pullulans, could strategically help tackle Covid-19 in people with comorbid conditions like diabetes, kidney and heart diseases, as published in Frontiers in Immunology Journal recommending clinical studies, for validation.

18 Jun 2020

UConn researchers tackle a vexing problem in the development of vaccines

Researchers at UConn's Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research have made a breakthrough in vaccine development for a common and difficult to treat pneumonia-causing pathogen. Their research was recently published in the Nature Partner Journal - Vaccines.

17 Jun 2020

A new system for detecting antibodies within minutes

To defend the body, the immune system makes proteins known as antibodies that latch onto the perceived threat, be it HIV, the new coronavirus or, as is the case in autoimmune disease, part of the body itself.

17 Jun 2020

An improved tetravalent antibody blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows the potential of a new fusion molecule called a biparatopic protein to inhibit viral interaction with the host cell ACE2 receptor. This could lead to therapeutic applications.

17 Jun 2020

Norway pulls coronavirus contact tracing App due to privacy concerns

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many countries have launched contact tracing apps to help contain the spread of the virus. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread across most of the world, now infecting more than 8.17 million people; hence, extensive contact tracing is a vital tool to prevent its vast spread.

17 Jun 2020

Research team generates comprehensive developmental map of human T-cells

Chintan Parekh, MD, of The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has led a team of investigators that generated a comprehensive roadmap for how T-cells develop in the human thymus.

16 Jun 2020

Combination of antibodies and internal radiation can help fight cervical cancer

The sugar coating on cancer cells helps them thrive, and a new study indicates patients with cervical cancer who make antibodies to those sugars appear to do better when they also receive internal radiation therapy.

16 Jun 2020

Scientists develop molecules that can remodel gut bacteria to a healthier state

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed molecules that can remodel the bacterial population of intestines to a healthier state and they have shown--through experiments in mice--that this reduces cholesterol levels and strongly inhibits the thickened-artery condition known as atherosclerosis.

16 Jun 2020

Testing reveals 11 percent of people in Geneva infected with SARS-CoV-2

Now, a team of researchers at Geneva University Hospitals has found that less than 11 percent of the population in Geneva has contracted the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Their research is published in the journal The Lancet.

15 Jun 2020