immunity News and Research

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Jamieson releases flu-fighting formula with echinacea

Jamieson Laboratories, Canada's largest manufacturer of advanced natural-health products, announced the release of FluShield™, a clinically proven flu-fighting formula that is made with a patented, next-generation echinacea extract known as LPx3.

27 Oct 2010

Long non-protein coding RNAs respond to SARS virus infection, says study

For the first time, scientists have discovered that a poorly understood class of RNA produced in a mammal's cells during a respiratory virus attack may affect the outcome of the infection. Their findings are reported today in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

27 Oct 2010

Place of birth, low SES and exposure to pests associated with asthma in U.S.-born children

Researchers from Tufts University pooled data from five previous epidemiological studies to investigate the prevalence of asthma in children in the Boston neighborhoods of Chinatown and Dorchester. Among children born in the United States, low socioeconomic status (SES) and exposure to pests (mice and cockroaches) were both associated with having asthma. Neither association was present in children born outside of the United States. The study was published online in advance of print in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

26 Oct 2010

Viral microRNA allows EBV to hide within cells and evade immune system

While most commonly associated with mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been linked to many diseases that affect people long after the initial infection takes place, including some forms of cancer. In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at The Wistar Institute describe how viral microRNA - small segments of RNA that suppress the effects of gene activity - allows EBV to hide within cells and evade the immune system.

26 Oct 2010

Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells to cause sickness

Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells into helping it pass through those cells to make people ill, and, if that doesn't work, the bacteria simply goes around the cells, according to a Purdue University study.

26 Oct 2010

Childhood allergies and asthma linked to development in the womb

A child's chances of developing allergies or wheezing is related to how he or she grew at vital stages in the womb, according to scientists from the University of Southampton.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate reverse zoonosis in marine invertebrate

The spread of lethal diseases from animals to humans has long been an issue of great concern to public health officials. But what about diseases that spread in the other direction, from humans to wildlife. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia has just been awarded a five-year $2 million Ecology of Infectious Diseases grant from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health to study the first known case of such a "reverse zoonosis" that involves the transmission of a human pathogen to a marine invertebrate, elkhorn coral.

21 Oct 2010

New immunoSEQ bioinformatics software platform helps monitor adaptive immune system

Adaptive TCR Technologies, a biotech firm based in Seattle, WA, announced today the release of its immunoSEQ profiling service and immunoSEQ Analyzer bioinformatics software platform. Together, these tools provide researchers and clinicians the ability to profile and monitor the adaptive immune system at a level of detail that has never before been possible.

21 Oct 2010

Carbon dioxide plays a role in gene regulation: Research

UCD Conway researchers have found that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not only involved in climate change and a waste product of respiration in cells but also plays an active role in regulating the genes involved in inflammation and innate immunity. Their research findings were highlighted recently in the The Journal of Immunology.

20 Oct 2010

Study finds adipose dysfunction linked to steatosis, necroinflammation in G1 CHC patients

Researchers at the University of Palermo in Italy provide the evidence that a higher visceral adiposity index score-a new index of adipose dysfunction-has a direct correlation with viral load and is independently associated with both steatosis and necroinflammatory activity in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (G1 CHC).

20 Oct 2010

Tips to improve cellular prostate health

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in America and may lead to more than 32,000 deaths this year. Medical Doctor and cancer expert, Dr. Isaac Eliaz announces breakthrough research and essential recommendations for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.

19 Oct 2010

Karmanos Cancer Institute awarded $3M NIH grant to study triple-negative breast cancer

Scientists at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit have received a nearly $3 million, five-year research project (RO1) grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a potentially ground-breaking immunotherapy treatment for women with one of the deadliest forms of breast cancer – triple-negative breast cancer. The research is exclusive to the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

19 Oct 2010

New imaging technique to study response of white blood cells to inflammation

Researchers at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine are using an innovative new imaging technique to study how white blood cells (called neutrophils) respond to inflammation, and have revealed new targets to inhibit the response.

18 Oct 2010

Researchers identify new paradigm for regulation of alternative splicing

How a T cell decides to make protein X, Y, or Z can have profound effects for fighting foreign invaders or staving off dire autoimmune reactions. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified the steps that control how different forms of an immune cell protein called CD45, which is critical for activating the immune system when faced with pathogens, are controlled in the arc of a body's immune response.

18 Oct 2010

Whooping cough cases increase

Whooping cough (Pertussis) a dreaded childhood disease that is vaccine preventable is back. After two doctors in Adelaide tested positive to whooping cough, nearly a 100 adults and children are being given precautionary antibiotics.

18 Oct 2010

NIH awards two new grants to develop Avidocin platform

AvidBiotics today announced the receipt of two new grants totaling $1 million dollars from the National Institutes of Health that further the development of the company's novel Avidocin™ platform for narrow spectrum antibacterial proteins against important health care threats. These grants add to three previous grants covering AvidBiotics' anti-infectious disease technologies, which provide approximately $3.4 million in currently active funding for the company.

15 Oct 2010

Scientists unveil quality control mechanism of immune system to destroy pathogens

An Australian team of scientists has uncovered a quality control mechanism that must take place for our immune system to subsequently effectively destroy harmful viruses and bacteria.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate statin drugs to treat lung disease

Researchers at Queen's University Belfast are investigating a potential new treatment for lung disease that could save many lives each year. The research team is studying how statins, drugs which are commonly used to treat high cholesterol, can be used to treat lung disease.

13 Oct 2010

Infection during pregnancy linked to increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in fetus

A pregnant woman's immune response to viral infections may induce subtle neurological changes in the unborn child that can lead to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia and autism. Research published in the online journal mBio- provides new insights into how this may happen and suggests potential strategies for reducing this risk.

13 Oct 2010