immunity News and Research

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Measles resets children’s immune systems to a “baby-like” state

New studies have shown that measles can compromise the immune system’s ability to fight off other future infections.

1 Nov 2019

Study shows how measles virus causes immune amnesia

Over the last decade, evidence has mounted that the measles vaccine protects in not one but two ways: Not only does it prevent the well-known acute illness with spots and fever that frequently sends children to the hospital, but it also appears to protect from other infections over the long term.

31 Oct 2019

Factor responsible for formation of white blood cells has regulatory effect on adaptive immunity

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, which causes division and differentiation of bone marrow cells depending on the body's need for leukocytes, has a significant regulatory effect not only on innate, but also on adaptive immunity.

31 Oct 2019

New TB vaccine: mid-phase trials confirm safety, long-term prevention

A new study published on October 29, 2019, in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports a new vaccine which could change the face of tuberculosis prevention. The disease kills 1.5 million people worldwide each year.

30 Oct 2019

Homeopathy quackery - NHS leaders urge caution

A new controversy is ripe, what with the head of the UK National Health Service (NHS), Simon Stevens, publicly expressing his “serious concerns” about the “fundamentally flawed” practice of homeopathy.

29 Oct 2019

NYU researcher awarded $1.7 million NIH grant to optimize cancer treatment

Weiqiang Chen, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, has been awarded the Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (R35) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

29 Oct 2019

Wild polio virus strain 3 finally conquered say scientists

World Polio day is observed on the 24th of October. This year on the day officials announced that one of the three strains of the wild polio virus has been finally wiped out due to persistent vaccination efforts across the globe.

26 Oct 2019

New cellular immunotherapy for cancers

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications on 22 October 2019 reports a new approach to cancer treatment that increases the immune capability of T lymphocytes against malignant cancers. This allows the T cells to successfully infiltrate and destroy these tumors. Animal trials have been completed and the researchers are planning clinical trials in human beings next.

26 Oct 2019

Newly identified antibodies could lead to better treatments and vaccines for influenza

A newly identified set of three antibodies could lead to better treatments and vaccines against influenza, according to a paper published this week in Science.

25 Oct 2019

New nanoenzyme may help increase anti-tumor immunity

Theoretically, our immune system could detect and kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, tumors are well armed to fight these attacks. Despite modern cancer treatments, metastases and relapses remain a major problem.

25 Oct 2019

Novel amyloid protein that induces amyloidosis discovered

A collaboration led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, has discovered a novel amyloid protein that induces amyloidosis in rats.

25 Oct 2019

Study opens up array of options for developing treatments for cancer or autoimmune disorder

Immunologists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered key biological switches that control regulatory T cells--specialized white blood cells that keep the immune system in check.

24 Oct 2019

Vaccine for Lassa fever set to enter clinical testing in humans

There is currently no vaccine for the Lassa arenavirus, which causes Lassa fever. This hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa, infects up to 300,000 people each year.

24 Oct 2019

Disrupting key immune regulator boosts anti-tumor immunity, enables cancer clearance

The immune system must strike an exquisite balance between vanquishing infections and cancer, while at the same time restraining its activity to avoid inadvertently attacking the body's healthy tissues and organs.

23 Oct 2019

Researchers receive $3.2 million NIH grant to pursue a deeper understanding of Down syndrome

Mount Sinai researchers have been awarded a $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to pursue a deeper understanding of Down syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities in children and young adults, affecting more than 200,000 individuals in the United States.

22 Oct 2019

Researchers develop simple, low-cost way to predict preeclampsia

Australian researchers have developed a way to predict the onset of a deadly pregnancy condition that kills 76,000 women and half a million babies each year, mostly in developing countries.

22 Oct 2019

Creatine powers fight against cancer, improves efficacy of immunotherapies

The immune system functions as the body’s defense against pathogens and harmful substances, including cancer cells. They protect the body against potential harm. In cases of cancer, though the body tries to fight the tumor cells, they may become too aggressive for the immune system to eradicate.

21 Oct 2019

Cantabio, LIH jointly investigate DJ-1 targeting compounds in immune associated diseases

DJ-1 is well known as an important target for the treatment of a number of diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Cantabio has been developing novel small molecule therapeutic program targeting the DJ-1 protein with a focus on Parkinson's and also exploring a number of other disease areas.

21 Oct 2019

Lyme vaccine on the horizon, says new study

Lyme disease is a dreaded disease caused by the bite of an infected tick. The only way to prevent it is by not getting bitten by the tick. However, this is not a practical recommendation, since even today about 300,000 thousand people are diagnosed with this infection, in the US alone, and over 100,000 in Europe, each year.

17 Oct 2019

Genes remember having low social status in the past

A new study in monkeys, published on October 14, 2019, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that organisms at the bottom of the social hierarchy live shorter lives. Moreover, they experience more sickness, and may continue to experience health problems despite moving up later. Adverse experiences of social life continue to reflect in their genes much longer than the actual experience, in the form of changes in gene expression via altered gene regulation.

16 Oct 2019