immunity News and Research

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Blocking key mineral uptake could prevent gonorrhea infection

A team of researchers may have found a way to block gonorrhea infection by blocking bacterial pathogen from using zinc, an essential mineral found in many food sources.

6 Aug 2019

New nanovaccine for deadly skin cancer

Tel Aviv scientists have published their version of a vaccine against the deadly skin cancer malignant melanoma, which arises from the pigment producing cells of the skin. This is the most feared form of skin cancer, with a high tendency to metastasize to distant parts of the body, including the brain.

6 Aug 2019

Whole body vibration helps reduce inflammation, thanks to the gut microbiome

Whole body vibration appears to improve many symptoms of type II diabetes mellitus, wherein glucose and destructive inflammation shoots up. The procedure helps the body use glucose as an energy source, and at the same time, modify the microbiome to fight inflammation, a new study says.

6 Aug 2019

Primary DENV or ZIKV infection has no effect on course of secondary infection in macaques

Previous infection with either Zika virus or dengue virus has no apparent effect on the clinical course of subsequent infection with the other virus, according to a study published August 1 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by David O'Connor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues.

5 Aug 2019

Whole body vibration adjusts the microbiome and immune cells to deter inflammation in diabetes

In the face of diabetes, a common condition in which glucose and levels of destructive inflammation soar, whole body vibration appears to improve how well our body uses glucose as an energy source and adjust our microbiome and immune cells to deter inflammation, investigators report.

5 Aug 2019

Rare immune cells may serve as 'periscopes' to monitor the body's immune status, study finds

A rare, short-lived population of immune cells in the bloodstream may serve as 'periscopes' to monitor immune status via lymph nodes deep inside the body, according to researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

2 Aug 2019

Study discovers paradoxical proinflammatory effect of endocannabinoids in the brain

A new study led by the Neuropharmacology Laboratory -NeuroPhar at UPF shows that increasing endocannabinoids in the brain may cause inflammation in specific brain areas such as the cerebellum, which is associated with problems of fine motor coordination.

30 Jul 2019

Asthma drug can inhibit changes in early stages of diabetic retinopathy

In a study published July 26 online in the journal Diabetes, physician-researchers from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that the asthma medication montelukast (brand name Singulair) can inhibit early changes in diabetic retinopathy, the eye disease which develops due to diabetes, in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes.

29 Jul 2019

90% of hepatitis cases, 65% hepatitis deaths preventable by 2030

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 4.5 million deaths could be prevented by 2030, and 26 million beyond that, if 67 countries in the low- and middle-income bracket invest $6 billion a year towards abolishing hepatitis. Hepatitis is a completely preventable and treatable illness at present, and in fact, hepatitis C is completely curable.

29 Jul 2019

Gut bacteria that prevents mice from becoming obese may also control weight in people

Researchers at University of Utah Health have identified a specific class of bacteria from the gut that prevents mice from becoming obese, suggesting these same microbes may similarly control weight in people.

26 Jul 2019

New vaccine shows promise against toughest HIV strains

A new study reports successful immunization against a so-far invincible “death star” strain of an HIV-related laboratory virus (SIVmac239) and another tough strain. The new approach also achieves long-term protection with a single dose, showing that gene therapy could allow broad and durable protection, based on a modified form of the CD4 protein that allows HIV entry into human cells.

24 Jul 2019

Early exposure to farm animals may lead to robust immune system development

Getting up close - and a little dirty - with farm animals just might help us fend off illness, say researchers who've further demonstrated the benefits of early exposure to a wide variety of environmental bacteria.

23 Jul 2019

Researchers identify toxin responsible for Legionella growth

A team of scientists led by EMBL group leader Sagar Bhogaraju and Ivan Dikic of Goethe University, Frankfurt, discovered that the toxin SidJ in Legionella bacteria enforces a unique modification on human proteins and helps legionella grow inside human cells.

22 Jul 2019

Receptor in the uterus can detect sperm molecule, aids in sperm survival

Why does it take 200 million sperms to fertilize a single egg? The single sperm that reached the finished line has successfully survived multiple checkpoints within the female reproductive tract, dubbed as pre-fertilization events. Now, a new study shows that the uterus contains receptors that facilitate sperm survival.

19 Jul 2019

Marijuana isn’t a great choice for glaucoma treatment, says expert

Marijuana can help reduce the pressure inside the eye (IOP, or intraocular pressure). Being a euphoric drug, it is now a commonly used recreational and medicinal drug. In fact, its use ranks fourth among all substances, behind tobacco, alcohol and caffeine.

18 Jul 2019

Gut infection can lead to a pathology resembling Parkinson's disease

A new study by Montreal scientists published today in Nature demonstrates that a gut infection can lead to a pathology resembling Parkinson's disease in a mouse model lacking a gene linked to the human disease.

17 Jul 2019

Women's greater immune response to flu vaccine declines with age

Women tend to have a greater immune response to a flu vaccination compared to men, but their advantage largely disappears as they age and their estrogen levels decline, suggests a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

17 Jul 2019

Novel vaccine against bee sting allergy successfully tested

A recently completed trial on a bee sting vaccine containing a novel adjuvant called Advax to increase its efficacy has raised hopes that severe allergic reactions, sometimes fatal, to bee venom in allergic people could soon be a thing of the past. The vaccine was designed to neutralize the venom of the European honeybee.

17 Jul 2019

UMass Amherst scientist receives $792,000 grant to advance cancer immunotherapy research

Biomedical engineer Ashish Kulkarni, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been awarded a four-year, $792,000 grant from the American Cancer Society to advance his interdisciplinary lab's promising cancer immunotherapy research.

16 Jul 2019

Diet and nutrition influence microbiome in colonic mucosa

Diet is important in maintaining human health, but its underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood. Now, a team of researchers sheds light on the connection of diet and health, and it has something to do with the microbiome composition in human colonic mucosa.

15 Jul 2019