immunity News and Research

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Single CRISPR treatment can safely and stably correct genetic disease

Researchers at Duke University have shown that a single systemic treatment using CRISPR genome editing technology can safely and stably correct a genetic disease -- Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) -- for more than a year in mice, despite observed immune responses and alternative gene editing outcomes.

18 Feb 2019

CRISPR technology creates pluripotent stem cells that are 'invisible' to the immune system

UC San Francisco scientists have used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system to create the first pluripotent stem cells that are functionally "invisible" to the immune system, a feat of biological engineering that, in laboratory studies, prevented rejection of stem cell transplants.

18 Feb 2019

Darla Shine joins anti-vaccination campaigners, increases threat of measles outbreak in US

Darla Shine has recently joined anti-vaccination campaigners by claiming that having measles as a child could protect against cancer in later life.

15 Feb 2019

Immune checkpoint molecule protects against future development of cancer

A research team at the University of Louisville has discovered that an immune checkpoint molecule they developed for cancer immunotherapy, also protects against future development of multiple types of cancer when administered by itself.

15 Feb 2019

Researchers comprehensively sequence the human immune system

For the first time ever, researchers are comprehensively sequencing the human immune system, which is billions of times larger than the human genome. In a new study published in Nature from the Human Vaccines Project, scientists have sequenced a key part of this vast and mysterious system -- the genes encoding the circulating B cell receptor repertoire.

14 Feb 2019

Sleep could be the best medicine to fight off an infection

Sleep has been underrated as the best medicine to fight off disease say researchers working on a new study. The study titled, “Gαs-Coupled Receptor Signaling and Sleep Regulate Integrin Activation of Human Antigen-Specific T Cells,” was published this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

14 Feb 2019

Breast pumps could be transmitting asthma-causing bacteria in babies, finds study

Mothers across the world use breast pumps to pump put the milk that is fed to their babies. A new study has revealed that these pumps may not be safe and may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause asthma in the babies later in life. The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

13 Feb 2019

Researchers discover mechanism on how body's antimicrobial shield regulates microbiome

The microbiome in our intestine plays a vital role in people's health and the immune system. Any lack of balance there has not only been linked to chronic inflammatory intestinal inflammation, but also type 2 diabetes and other diseases

12 Feb 2019

New research sheds fresh light on the history of malaria

The anopheline mosquitoes that carry malaria were present 100 million years ago, new research shows, potentially shedding fresh light on the history of a disease that continues to kill more than 400,000 people annually.

12 Feb 2019

Prior dengue virus infection increases Zika virus-induced damage during pregnancy

Women who have previously been infected with dengue virus may be at risk for increased damage to their fetuses and placentas if they should later become infected with the Zika virus, researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

11 Feb 2019

Immunity to dengue can protect against Zika infection, study shows

In the epicenter of the Zika epidemic in northeast Brazil, 73 percent of people living in an urban slum in Salvador were infected in 2015. However, in this highly affected population, those with immunity to dengue, a genetically similar virus, had a reduced risk of infection with Zika.

8 Feb 2019

New research on viral biology could lead to efficient vaccines against leishmaniasis

New research from McGill University has found that a virus infecting the Leishmania parasite spreads by exploiting a mechanism used for cell-to-cell communication, a discovery that could pave the way to new vaccines against infections that cause severe disfiguration.

8 Feb 2019

Drug treating breast cancer may be effective in treating lung and ovarian cancer

Two new papers, published simultaneously in Nature Communications and led by researchers at McGill University, offer promise that a drug currently used to treat estrogen positive breast cancer may be effective in treating two different types of cancer, one rare and one common form.

5 Feb 2019

OU researcher and collaborators are developing new strategies for early intervention of Lupus

A University of Oklahoma researcher, Si Wu, and collaborators from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Indiana University, are developing new strategies leading to diagnosis and early intervention of Lupus, an autoimmune disease that may affect up to 1.5 million Americans.

1 Feb 2019

Researchers use mouse models to explain the developmental process behind COPD

The airways and lungs are affected by a range of diseases, but while some have been well characterized and treated, others such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are still somewhat of an enigma.

1 Feb 2019

Study opens new avenue for treating ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease

An international study led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) has found that Lactobacillus bacteria present in the intestinal microbiota interact with immune system cells to strengthen the intestinal barrier.

31 Jan 2019

Using bivalves as model organisms offers promising avenues for medical research

Shellfish like oysters and mussels have the potential to revolutionize human health research, according to a new paper in Developmental and Comparative Immunology.

30 Jan 2019

Big data opens door for characterizing immunity-related genome in Japanese population

Although different genes are distributed widely across chromosomes, many genes related to the immune system are clustered together on human chromosome 6, in a segment called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region.

29 Jan 2019

Annual RegenMed SA Conference to focus on future of stem cells

Doctors regularly perform stem cell transplants, also known as bone marrow transplants, to replace cells damaged by chemotherapy.