immunity News and Research

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Study explores maternal infection and its role in neurodevelopmental disorders

The immune responses of a female mouse before pregnancy can predict how likely her offspring are to have behavioral deficits if the immune system is activated during pregnancy, according to researchers from the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis.

5 May 2020

COVID-19 progression linked to B cell activation

The disease course of COVID-19 is diverse, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal respiratory failure. Scientists have been working to uncover the immunological reasons behind this heterogeneity. A recent study on B cells, published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020, shows that extrafollicular B cells could be a marker of severe infection in the early stages, predicting the need for earlier immunomodulatory therapy.

4 May 2020

Uncovering immune cell reactions in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 suggests that an overactive immune response is responsible for the more severe manifestations of the illness.

4 May 2020

Human endemic coronavirus reinfection possible after recovery

The novel coronavirus started spreading in December 2019, and since then, it has rippled across the globe, affecting 187 countries and territories, and infecting more than 3.18 million people. However, the behavior and mechanism of the virus, including whether it provides adaptive immunity, is still unclear. There have been reports of reinfection out of South Korea and Japan

4 May 2020

New information on viral antigens could improve COVID-19 testing

Researchers in France and China have characterized antibody responses to a wide range of antigens present on severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 May 2020

Scientists develop a highly sensitive COVID-19 diagnostic platform

Cima Universidad de Navarra researchers have developed a large-scale, highly sensitive COVID-19 diagnostic platform more efficient than the commercial PCR test kits currently available.

4 May 2020

UC San Diego receives $55 NIH grant to advance clinical and translational research

The Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute at University of California San Diego has received a five-year, $54.7 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, part of the National Institutes of Health.

4 May 2020

A $10 million grant enables expansion of BCG vaccine trial against COVID-19

An A$10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow the Murdoch Children's Research Institute's clinical trial of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 to extend to 10,000 healthcare workers across Australia, Spain and The Netherlands.

4 May 2020

Number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Spain increases to almost 10% of the people infected

A multidisciplinary research group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) have analysed the diagnostic delay between the development of symptoms of COVID-19 and the registration of a positive case in ten countries in the European Union.

4 May 2020

Research detects a more dangerous SARS-CoV-2 mutation

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the setting up of a system to help track new mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is behind the current COVID-19 pandemic. This will help analyze mutations to find and track the spread of those that are most likely to increase the pathogenicity of the virus, either by making it easier to transmit or by enhancing its resistance to treatment.

4 May 2020

"Stratify-and shield" a potential alternative to COVID-19 lockdowns

Researchers in Scotland who have evaluated a “stratify-and shield” policy for combating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the UK say it is time to consider the approach as an alternative to social distancing seriously.

3 May 2020

Lipo-ImmunoTech receives grant to develop novel adoptive cell therapy technology for cancer

Lipo-ImmunoTech, LLC, a startup based in Charleston, South Carolina, recently received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer grant of just over $224,000 to continue to develop its novel adoptive cell therapy technology for cancer.

2 May 2020

COVIDENCE UK study aims to identify highest risk factors for COVID-19

Scientists are calling on the public to sign up to a new study which will help identify who is most at risk of contracting COVID-19 and why some people become more ill than others with the disease.

30 Apr 2020

New clinical trial launched to study if convalescent plasma can treat COVID-19

Montefiore Health System, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and NYU Langone have launched a new clinical trial to study if convalescent plasma- taken from people who have recovered from COVID-19 - is effective in treating the disease.

29 Apr 2020

CZI commits $13.6 million for large-scale research collaboration on COVID-19

Today, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative committed $13.6 million to stand up a large-scale research collaboration between UC San Francisco, Stanford University, and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub that aims to better understand the spread of COVID-19 across the San Francisco Bay Area.

29 Apr 2020

Australian COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows protective response in pre-clinical trials

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, scientists race to develop a vaccine that can help contain the spread of the virus. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has so far infected more than 3.18 million people across the globe. Now, early tests of a potential coronavirus vaccine have shown promise in pre-clinical trials.

29 Apr 2020

Coronaviruses represent a source of pandemic viruses

In a new paper published on the preprint journal bioRxiv in April 2020, researcher T. Konishi argues that the coronavirus family is a constellation of pandemic pathogens, that includes the currently spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

29 Apr 2020

Researchers discover cause for the lack of immune defense against tumors

One of the reasons why cancer develops is because regulatory cells inhibit the body's immune defense. Researchers under the helm of the Technical University of Munich have discovered a mechanism for identifying regulatory cells in tumor tissue that suppress an immune response.

29 Apr 2020

Researchers test existing anti-inflammatory drug in COVID-19 patients

An anti-inflammatory drug developed at Scripps Research 25 years ago is now being tested as a way to prevent acute respiratory distress in patients with COVID-19, the pandemic disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

29 Apr 2020

Ortho introduces second COVID-19 antibody test with 100% specificity

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a global leader of in vitro diagnostics with a rich history of bringing critical tests for infectious diseases to market, today introduced and announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization to its second COVID-19 antibody test—the VITROS Immunodiagnostic Products Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Test. This test is one of only a handful of antibody tests to be granted Emergency Use Authorization.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 29 Apr 2020