immunity News and Research

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Newly-discovered protein acts as off switch for human immune cells

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a protein that cancer cells use to shut down the body's immune response, a discovery that could help scientists develop new treatments that make cancer immunotherapies more effective.

3 Aug 2026

New analytical strategies can measure thousands of gut microbial proteins

The trillions of microorganisms living in our intestine influence our health, from digestion and metabolism to immunity.

3 Aug 2026

Children remain more vulnerable to influenza despite protective antibody levels

Researchers analyzing 1,518 South African household participants found that higher pre-season antibody titers were associated with lower infection risk for three of four influenza viruses studied. Children remained more susceptible after accounting for measured exposure and antibody titers, while younger children shed viral RNA longer than older adults.

3 Aug 2026

Arginine boosts immune defenses against cancer and viral infections

The amino acid arginine helps to keep the human body humming, most notably by synthesizing proteins that carry out a range of cellular processes.

31 Jul 2026

Study reveals widening inequality in leisure-time physical activity

A ten-year study of residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, revealed that leisure-time physical activity is highly unequal and that the gap between social strata is widening.

30 Jul 2026

Microbial metabolites could help improve functional cure rates for hepatitis B

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains a major global challenge. Current therapies suppress HBV but rarely achieve functional cure (sustained HBsAg loss).

30 Jul 2026

New computational technique traces ghost ancestry in modern human genomes

UC Berkeley researchers have identified regions of DNA that humans inherited from two unknown ancestors as a result of long-ago interbreeding among modern humans and at least four other archaic human relatives.

30 Jul 2026

Scientists discover why bats survive deadly viruses without getting sick

It is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for years. How can the world's only winged mammals carry viruses that cause severe disease while rarely becoming seriously ill themselves?

29 Jul 2026

Study reveals how gum disease drives systemic inflammation

A recent study revealed that periodontitis reprograms bone marrow neutrophils through a Chac2-driven glutathione metabolic pathway, promoting a highly inflammatory N1 state that fuels systemic inflammation.

28 Jul 2026

Research reveals how a hidden immune cell army defends human lung tissue

New research led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and University of Liverpool (UOL) provides the first comprehensive look at how a hidden immune cell army defends the vast, vulnerable tissue of the human lungs.

28 Jul 2026

Blocking autophagy in blood vessels reduces skin inflammation in mice

Researchers at VIB and KU Leuven, together with international collaborators, have discovered that blocking autophagy - the body's natural recycling system for worn-out cell components - in specialized blood vessels can reduce inflammation in mice with psoriasis.

28 Jul 2026

Too little or too much iodine may push immunity off balance

This narrative review finds that adequate iodine supports thyroid hormone signaling, leukocyte metabolism, antioxidant defenses, and antimicrobial activity in humans and domesticated mammals. Both deficiency and sustained excess may impair immunity or promote thyroid inflammation, but precise immune-specific intake thresholds remain uncertain.

27 Jul 2026

New cancer vaccine harnesses COVID-19 immune memory to fight tumors

In a discovery that could redefine the future of cancer immunotherapy, scientists from Celloram Inc., University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University have developed a novel cancer vaccine platform that transforms the impact of the largest immunological event in modern history – a synchronized mass immune memory generated through SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination – into a powerful ally against cancer.

27 Jul 2026

Alcohol use during pregnancy increased in the United States from 2011 through 2024

Prenatal alcohol exposure-a contributor to adverse pregnancy outcomes and the leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability worldwide-has increased in the United States over the past decade.

27 Jul 2026

CRISPR directs layered immune response against invading bacteriophages

The main function of CRISPR-Cas systems, the revolutionary tool scientists now employ to edit genes, is to defend bacteria against threats such as viruses called bacteriophages.

24 Jul 2026

Study links household drinking water to long-term lithium exposure

Lithium in drinking water is a widespread and persistent source of human exposure across Tribal communities in the Western United States, according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

24 Jul 2026

Scientists create programmable immune receptors for disease-resistant crops

Crop production faces threats from plant pathogens. Traditional disease-resistance breeding relies heavily on natural plant resistance genes that encode immune receptors adapted to particular pathogens.

23 Jul 2026

MEK inhibition could limit T cell exhaustion and give a boost to immunotherapy

A major pillar of cancer immunotherapy involves stimulating T cells, the specialized killers of the immune system, to attack tumors.

23 Jul 2026

Study reveals high prevalence of post-pandemic fatigue and sleep disturbances

Disrupted sleep and anxiety may be an ongoing issue for many people after the pandemic, whether due to COVID-19 directly or to the stress and anxiety caused by the global pandemic, and may contribute to the fatigue commonly reported by people with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS, or 'long COVID').

23 Jul 2026

CRISPR-Cas orchestrates a layered defense network to fight bacterial viruses

All cellular life-from humans to bacteria-possesses two layers of immunity: innate and adaptive. Scientists have long understood how these two types of immunity work together in higher organisms but not in the microbial world.

23 Jul 2026