immunity News and Research

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Study reveals expansion of NK cells after acute infection

The natural killer cells of our immune defense are activated for an extended period after the acute infection, which challenges the prevailing view that the elevation and activation of cells quickly pass.

3 Mar 2011

Affymetrix releases complete genotyping data set on its website

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced the release of a complete data set of 5 million variants on its website.

3 Mar 2011

New insight into HIV/AIDS

A paper published in the March 2011 print edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation offers new insight into what prompts immunity to AIDS in sooty mangabeys, a natural host African monkey species.

2 Mar 2011

Two genes linked to binge drinking

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have identified two genes associated with binge drinking that may open doors to new, more effective treatments for excessive alcohol drinking. The scientists found that manipulating two receptors in the brain, GABA receptors and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), "caused profound reduction" of binge drinking for two weeks in rodents that had been bred and trained to drink excessively. The study was published online the week of Feb. 28 in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1 Mar 2011

New study identifies recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users

Botulism is a rare disease and recurrent botulism even more rare. However, in California, recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users has been on the rise and makes up three-quarters of reported cases in the United States.

28 Feb 2011

Authorities work to contain measles scare

Health authorities are trying to prevent an outbreak of measles after a woman carrying the transmissible infection travelled widely throughout the United States. The lady in question, 27, allegedly contracted the airborne virus in the United Kingdom and arrived in the United States last week, passing through three U.S. airports on her way to New Mexico, where she is believed to reside. She arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, February 22, from London.

28 Feb 2011

New study: Immune molecules can regulate synaptic connections in brain

The number of connections between nerve cells in the brain can be regulated by an immune system molecule, according to a new study from UC Davis. The research, published Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, reveals a potential link between immunity, infectious disease and conditions such as schizophrenia or autism.

27 Feb 2011

Discovery highlights unexpected role for killer protein in 'autophagy'

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made an important discovery concerning how fledgling cancer cells self-destruct, which has the potential of impacting on future cancer therapies. The Trinity research group, led by Smurfit Professor of Medical Genetics, Professor Seamus Martin and funded by Science Foundation Ireland, has just published their findings in the internationally renowned journal, Molecular Cell.

25 Feb 2011

Symposium examines Bruesewitz vs. Wyeth Supreme Court case

A March 29 symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences, "Vaccines Under the Gun: Politics, Science, Media and the Law," will feature a presentation by Daniel J. Thomasch, JD, national lead trial counsel for Wyeth, who was involved in the case decided by the Supreme Court yesterday in which the justices rejected a lawsuit claiming injury from a Wyeth vaccine.

25 Feb 2011

Study: Heparin plays a key role in mast cell-driven allergic and inflammatory reactions

Heparin plays a key role in allergic and inflammatory reactions driven by mast cells, scientists from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows in an international collaboration involving colleagues from Germany and Switzerland. The study is published in the recent issue of Immunity, and sheds some new light on the biological function of heparin.

25 Feb 2011

Steroid administration may impact immune system in children with asthma

Children experiencing an asthma attack who are treated with a short burst of oral steroids may have a transient depression of immune response according to a new study led by Universit- de Montr-al.

24 Feb 2011

Finally! A vaccine against Dengue

Scientists from Thailand have successfully produced the world’s first dengue hemorrhagic fever vaccine and will allow the private sector improve it for the effective treatment of patients. The Thailand Ministry of Science and Technology has introduced the world’s first live attenuated dengue hemorrhagic fever vaccine.

23 Feb 2011

Experimental vaccine appears to protect against pneumonia

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed an experimental vaccine that appears to protect against an increasingly common and particularly deadly form of pneumococcal pneumonia. Details of the new vaccine, which was tested in an animal model, are reported in a paper published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

22 Feb 2011

Novavax announces final safety, immunogenicity results from H1N1 VLP vaccine at WHO meeting

Novavax, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today presented the final safety and immunogenicity results from its 2009 H1N1 virus-like particle pandemic influenza vaccine clinical trial in Mexico at the invitation-only 7th World Health Organization Meeting on Evaluation of Pandemic Influenza Vaccines in Clinical Trials.

19 Feb 2011

Emotional response to challenging situations predict body's response to stress

Your emotional response to challenging situations could predict how your body responds to stress, according to research published this month in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

18 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers develop new pneumococcal vaccine through novel discovery approach

Pneumococcus accounts for as much as 11 percent of mortality in young children worldwide. While successful vaccines like Prevnar exist, they are expensive and only work against specific pneumococcal strains, with the risk of becoming less effective as new strains emerge.

17 Feb 2011

Idera: IMO-3100 in lupus preclinical model suppressed several key disease progression parameters

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it is presenting data on IMO-3100, an antagonist of TLR7 and TLR9, in a preclinical model of lupus showing that treatment with IMO-3100 suppressed several key disease progression parameters.

15 Feb 2011

Tianyin Pharmaceutical's second quarter revenue increases 69.6% to $25.3 million

Tianyin Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the patented biopharmaceutical, modernized traditional Chinese medicine, branded generics and other pharmaceuticals, announced the financial results for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2011.

14 Feb 2011

New study on mosquito genome sequences to identify 'transposable elements'

A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside has begun working on a mosquito research project that, if successful, will provide valuable genetic resources capable of transforming the way mosquito research is conducted around the world.

14 Feb 2011