immunity News and Research

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Mapping brain microglia

Microglia are known to be important to brain function. The immune cells have been found to protect the brain from injury and infection and are critical during brain development, helping circuits wire properly. They also seem to play a role in disease -- showing up, for example, around brain plaques in people with Alzheimer's.

6 Dec 2018

UAB research may point a path to more effective influenza vaccines

Seasonal influenza vaccines are typically less than 50 percent effective, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies. Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, published this week in Nature Immunology, may point a path to more effective vaccines.

6 Dec 2018

New CU Boulder study shows how spinal injury impacts circadian rhythms

In the hours and days following a spinal cord injury, the gears that control the body's internal clocks fall profoundly out of sync, impacting body temperature, hormone fluctuation, immunity and the timing of a host of other bodily processes, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research.

5 Dec 2018

Spaceflight does not compromise major part of the immune system, shows research

With a new crew arriving at the International Space Station, astronauts will be relieved to know that they won't have to worry about a major aspect of their immune system being compromised.

5 Dec 2018

Researchers find how skin cancer cells avoid attack by the immune system

Researchers at the Mainz University Medical Center discovered a new signal pathway employed by skin cancer cells to avoid attack by the immune system. In an animal model and through analysis of human tissue samples, Dr. Toszka Bohn, Dr. Steffen Rapp and Professor Tobias Bopp were able to demonstrate the significant role played by a specific protein called ICER.

29 Nov 2018

Super bugs “supercharging” on the International Space Station

Researchers and microbiologists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA, had found that there were five different types of Enterobacter present in the toilets and exercise areas on the ISS.

29 Nov 2018

New study solves longstanding mystery in innate immunity

UT Southwestern biochemist and Breakthrough Prize winner Dr. Zhijian "James" Chen's newest study answers a long-standing question in the field of innate immunity.

29 Nov 2018

UT Southwestern researchers discover enzyme that promotes tumor growth

UT Southwestern researchers have found that an enzyme on the surface of some lung cancer cells helps feed the cancer, making it a tempting treatment target.

28 Nov 2018

Scientists visualize action of immune cells in response to cancer cell proliferation

As tumors develop, they evolve genetically. How does the immune system act when faced with tumor cells? How does it exert pressure on the genetic diversity of cancer cells? Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm used in vivo video techniques and cell-specific staining to visualize the action of immune cells in response to the proliferation of cancer cells.

28 Nov 2018

Freeze dried polio vaccine could help save lives in remote locations

Polio vaccine can successfully prevent the deadly paralyzing illness caused in children. The vaccine presently available is in liquid form and is also thermolabile.

28 Nov 2018

Research may pave way for development of potent weapons against cancer

Despite significant advances in cancer research, the disease continues to exact a devastating toll. Because cancer is a disease of the body's own cells, which mutate and develop under evolutionary pressure, conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation often leave behind a residue of resistant cells that go on to expand and wreak havoc.

27 Nov 2018

Scripps Research scientists reveal potential new approach to design HIV vaccines

A new candidate HIV vaccine from Scripps Research surmounts technical hurdles that stymied previous vaccine efforts, and stimulates a powerful anti-HIV antibody response in animal tests.

26 Nov 2018

Scientists develop new surgical process for studying the thymus

Elisa Oltra, head of the Genetic Exppression and Immunity group of the Faculty of Medicine at the Catholic University of Valencia, in collaboration with Alejandro Caicedo, professor of the Department of Medicine of the University of Miami, have developed a surgical process which makes it possible to place functional fragments of the thymus in the anterior chamber of the eyes of mice.

26 Nov 2018

Starved ticks try harder to find hosts

Ticks are hardy little brutes that can go as long as a year without a meal. Now scientists at the University of Cincinnati say the hungrier ticks are, the harder they try to find you or other hosts. The findings could have implications for the spread of tick-borne disease such as Lyme or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

21 Nov 2018

Scientists discover toxic bullet involved in bacterial competition

A bacterial toxin that allows an infectious strain of bacteria to defeat its competitors has been discovered by Imperial College London scientists.

20 Nov 2018

First modeling system developed for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines

A team of scientists at Boston Children's Hospital has developed the first modeling system for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines -- outside the body. The practical, cost-effective new platform, using all human components, is expected to accelerate and de-risk the development, assessment and selection of vaccines.

20 Nov 2018

Live probiotics can change existing gut flora and alter immune response

New research published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics demonstrates that 'good' bacteria in the live probiotic SymproveTM can successfully reach and colonize the gut, where they go on to change the existing gut flora. They are also capable of modifying immune response.

20 Nov 2018

Balanced production of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines at two years of age protects against malaria

A balanced production of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines at two years of age protects against clinical malaria in early childhood, according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation.

14 Nov 2018

Breakthrough research could lead to a new wave of cancer-fighting antibodies

Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed a new antibody that could hold the key to unlocking cancer's defense against the body's immune system.

13 Nov 2018

Immunity connects gut microbiota and age-related pathologies

EPFL scientists have discovered how a dysfunction in the immune system can cause an overload of a gut bacterium. The bacterium produces excess lactic acid, which in turn triggers the production of reactive oxygen species that cause damage to cells and many age-related pathologies.

13 Nov 2018