immunity News and Research

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Tetanus diphtheria booster shots not needed by adults says study

According to the latest research, if adults have been entirely vaccinated as children, they need not get booster shots for diphtheria and tetanus. The study is published today in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and is titled, "Incidence of Tetanus and Diphtheria in Relation to Adult Vaccination Schedules."

25 Feb 2020

Understanding the arms race between bacteria and viruses

University of Otago researchers have contributed to an international study which helps improve the understanding of bacteria and viruses.

25 Feb 2020

New study uncovers human genes controlling HIV infection

Viruses are parasites. The only way they can grow is by hijacking their hosts. When they infect a human host, viruses use human proteins to multiply and modify the human cells to sustain the infection. At the same time, the human host activates defense mechanisms to fight the infection.

20 Feb 2020

Scientists discover novel molecular pathway involved in immunotherapy response

Scientists at The Wistar Institute discovered a novel pathway that enables detection of DNA in the cytoplasm and triggers inflammation and cellular senescence.

20 Feb 2020

Potential method for better treatment of premature babies

A new study published in the journal Immunology in February 2020 reports the discovery of a process that occurs in the body naturally, but which enhances the production of type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in the lung alveoli of premature babies. These are sentinel cells that keep the mucosal surfaces clean and healthy. They are crucial to building resistance to infection within the human body.

18 Feb 2020

Scientists may have a way to boost innate lung immunity in preterm babies

The continuing epidemic of pre-term birth includes this stark reality: tiny, fragile babies are born with underdeveloped lungs and prone to lifelong respiratory infections and related chronic illnesses.

18 Feb 2020

Social media users most misinformed about vaccines

With the advent of the coronavirus outbreak and other viral outbreaks that are taking the lives of many people worldwide, vaccination is more important today than ever. But, recently, immunization rates have drastically decreased due to information people receive through social media platforms.

18 Feb 2020

Fruit flies have a new defense strategy to deal with oxidative stress

Oxidative stress affects all living organisms, and the damage it causes is believed to play a part in cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and a number of other health conditions.

18 Feb 2020

Measles re-emerging globally

Measles is a common childhood illness but can cause more than a passing fever with rash. It could turn out to be a complicated and severe illness, warn doctors in a new paper published in February 2020 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

17 Feb 2020

Social media more likely to provide misinformation about vaccines

People who rely on social media for information were more likely to be misinformed about vaccines than those who rely on traditional media, according to a study of vaccine knowledge and media use by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

17 Feb 2020

Stress in kids could have long term genetic consequences finds study

Researchers have found that being separated from parents at a young age could lead to a rise in stress hormones, which could have direct consequences on altering the genetic makeup of the child, which can then be passed on to the future generations. The study titled, "Childcare outside the family for the under-threes: cause for concern?" was published in the latest issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

16 Feb 2020

Research reveals new pathogenic mechanism for influenza NS1 protein

Influenza is a deadly virus, with about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide each year. When pandemics hit, the toll can soar: The Spanish flu of 1918 caused 40 million to 50 million deaths, the Asian flu of 1957 caused 2 million deaths, and the Hong Kong flu of 1968 caused 1 million deaths.

16 Feb 2020

Universal 'One-Size-Fits-All' Cancer Treatment

Andrew Sewell speaks to News-Medical about his breakthrough research, in which he has discovered a new T-Cell that could treat most cancers.

14 Feb 2020

Inflammation detected in the brains of veterans with Gulf War Illness

In a new discovery, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have detected widespread inflammation in the brains of veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Illness.

13 Feb 2020

Immune cells count each other in order to decide whether to attack

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications in February 2020 shows that immune cells consult and coordinate with each other at the site of activity to bring about a balanced but adequate reaction and stave off the threat.

13 Feb 2020

Researchers engineer probiotics to safely deliver immunotherapies to tumors

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have engineered probiotics to safely deliver immunotherapies within tumors.

12 Feb 2020

Individual response to Ebola predicted by new method

The Ebola virus produces widely varying reactions, from asymptomatic illness to death, in people depending on the individual's susceptibility. But what drives this difference in response? A new study published in the journal Cell Reports on February 2020 goes one step further in understanding how the immune system reacts to the virus causing varying levels of severity of disease between cases.

11 Feb 2020

DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

It's known that genetics, or an inherited genome, is a major determinant of one's risk for autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. In human cells, a person's genome--about six feet of DNA--is compressed into the micrometer space of the nucleus via a three-dimensional folding process.

11 Feb 2020

Combination of two antibiotics found to be no better than one for treating MRSA blood infections

Researchers attempting to improve the treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood infections have discovered the combination of two antibiotics was no better than one, and led to more adverse effects.

11 Feb 2020