immunity News and Research

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Trump team’s $500 million bet on old vaccine technology puzzles scientists

The Trump administration's unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts.

5 May 2025

New three-part antivenom cocktail protects against the world’s deadliest snakes

Scientists developed a groundbreaking antivenom cocktail using antibodies from a hyperimmune human donor and a small-molecule inhibitor that protected mice from deadly bites of 19 diverse snakes. This approach could lead to a universal antivenom for the world’s most dangerous snakes, overcoming the limitations of current species-specific treatments.

2 May 2025

New albumin-based vaccine shows promise for mucosal immunity

Vaccines save millions of lives every year, but there is still an urgent need for more efficient vaccines. Strategies to combat serious outbreaks of viral infections are particularly important.

2 May 2025

Gut immune cells linked to worsening rheumatoid arthritis

After spending years tracing the origin and migration pattern of an unusual type of immune cell in mice, researchers have shown in a new study how activity of "good" microbes in the gut is linked to rheumatoid arthritis and, potentially, other autoimmune diseases.

2 May 2025

Psychotherapy gains ground in outpatient mental health care

Psychotherapy assumed a larger role in outpatient mental health care while psychiatric medication without psychotherapy became less common, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

1 May 2025

Higher biological age linked to increased dementia risk

People whose biological age is higher than their chronological age may be more likely to develop dementia than people whose biological age matches or is lower than their chronological age, according to a study published on April 30, 2025, online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

30 Apr 2025

Measles makes a deadly comeback in Europe as vaccine gaps widen

In 2024, measles cases in Europe soared to the highest levels in decades, with over 35,000 reported cases, 87% from Romania alone. Most affected were unvaccinated children, revealing critical immunity gaps and suboptimal vaccination coverage across the EU/EEA.

29 Apr 2025

Humanized antibody dismantles metabolic barrier as a potential cancer immunotherapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a specific mode of fat uptake by immune cells within tumors that serves as a metabolic checkpoint against anti-cancer immune responses.

28 Apr 2025

How immune resilience and salutogenesis promote disease resistance and longevity

Researchers examine how salutogenesis, the active production of health through immune resilience, resists disease.

28 Apr 2025

Scientists say global conditions are ripe for a yellow fever pandemic

A new study in npj Viruses warns that global trends like urbanization, travel, and mosquito spread are amplifying the risk of yellow fever virus (YFV) expansion into the Asia-Pacific. Researchers caution that the conditions for a devastating YF pandemic are now more favorable than ever.

27 Apr 2025

Measles could return to endemic status if US vaccination rates fall further

Declining childhood vaccination rates in the United States could lead to a resurgence of measles and other previously eliminated infectious diseases. Simulation models predict that even current vaccination rates may be insufficient to prevent measles from becoming endemic within 20–25 years.

27 Apr 2025

Rare lung cell found to protect against COVID-19 death

A rare cell type in the lungs is essential to survival from the COVID-19 virus, a new study shows.

25 Apr 2025

IL-17A identified as a potential driver of cancer in familial adenomatous polyposis

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary disease which, in addition to a high risk of bowel cancer, also a greatly increased risk of duodenal cancer.

25 Apr 2025

Manipulating a master regulator prevents tumor growth in mice

A protein identified nearly 40 years ago for its ability to stimulate the production of red blood cells plays a surprising, critical role in dampening the immune system's response to cancer.

24 Apr 2025

Breakthrough DNA editing in Lactobacillus offers safer probiotics

A Kobe University team was able to edit the DNA of Lactobacillus strains directly without a template from other organisms.

24 Apr 2025

Measles could become endemic again in the United States

Childhood vaccination rates have been falling in the United States, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

24 Apr 2025

Daily peanut doses help adults overcome severe allergies

The first clinical trial to test whether adults allergic to peanuts can be desensitised has shown great success with two thirds of the cohort consuming the equivalent of five peanuts without reacting.

23 Apr 2025

One RSV shot cuts severe lung infections in older adults for three seasons, trial shows

A phase 3 trial involving nearly 25,000 older adults across 17 countries found that a single dose of the RSVPreF3 OA vaccine reduced RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease by 63% over three seasons. Protection remained substantial despite waning, with similar efficacy to a two-dose regimen and a favorable safety profile.

23 Apr 2025

Measles misinformation is on the rise — and Americans are hearing it, survey finds

While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine and the threat of the disease are sharply polarized, fed by the anti-vaccine views of the country's seniormost health official.

23 Apr 2025

Interferon regulatory factor 8 identified as key driver of liver fat buildup in NAFLD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a hepatic metabolic syndrome resulting from lipid metabolic imbalance. Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is well known for its roles in immune cell differentiation and tumor pathogenesis; however, its role in regulating glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism remains unclear.

22 Apr 2025