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A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.

Seven physicians receive ASTRO grants to advance radiation oncology research

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has selected seven leading physicians to receive a total of $675,000 in awards and grants to advance radiation oncology research. The ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award, the ASTRO Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant and the ASTRO/Radiation Oncology Institute Comparative Effectiveness Research Award will fund studies in radiation and cancer biology, radiation physics, translational research, outcomes/health services research and comparative effectiveness research within radiation oncology.

12 Aug 2014

Exploiting chemical response from body's immune system to attack pathogens using copper

Harnessing a natural process in the body that pumps lethal doses of copper to fungi and bacteria shows promise as a new way to kill infectious microbes, a team of scientists at Duke University report.

1 Aug 2014

Findings reveal new way to identify non-antibiotic drugs that could help curb bacterial infections

About 100 drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other purposes can also prevent the growth of certain bacterial pathogens inside human cells, including those that cause Legionnaires' disease, brucellosis, and Mediterranean spotted fever.

29 Jul 2014

Right kind of fat keeps the heart healthy

Too much dietary fat is bad for the heart, but the right kind of fat keeps the heart healthy, according to a paper published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

22 Jul 2014

Learning role of immune-system cells in digestive tracts may lead to new treatments for IBS

Learning the role of immune-system cells in healthy digestive tracts and how they interact with neighboring nerve cells may lead to new treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

18 Jul 2014

Role of immune system cells in healthy digestive tracts may lead to new treatments for IBS

Learning the role of immune system cells in healthy digestive tracts and how they interact with neighboring nerve cells may lead to new treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

18 Jul 2014

Researchers release evidence substantiating unexpected dual role of immune system

University of Leicester researchers have released evidence substantiating an unexpected dual role of an important component of the immune system.

17 Jul 2014

Scientists build artificial cells programmed to eat their undesirable neighbors

A team of researchers has devised a Pac-Man-style power pellet that gets normally mild-mannered cells to gobble up their undesirable neighbors. The development may point the way to therapies that enlist patients’ own cells to better fend off infection and even cancer, the researchers say. A description of the work will be published July 15 in the journal Science Signaling.

16 Jul 2014

Inflammatory shift in long-standing bipolar disorder

Patients with chronic bipolar disorder, but not those with schizophrenia, have a shift towards an M1 rather than an M2 macrophage response, research suggests.

15 Jul 2014

CRISPR system involved in promoting antibiotic resistance

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to fend off viruses, is involved in promoting antibiotic resistance in Francisella novicida, a close relative of the bacterium that causes tularemia.

15 Jul 2014

Bacterial respiratory tract colonization before catching influenza may protect against severe disease

Many studies have shown that more severe illness and even death are likely to result if you develop a secondary respiratory infection after developing influenza. Now, however, a team of researchers based at The Wistar Institute has determined that if you reverse the order of infection, the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (often called pneumococcus) may actually protect against a bad case of the flu.

11 Jul 2014

Clear advances in the fight against tuberculosis are within reach, say immunologists

Leading immunologists expect to see some clear advances in the fight against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that is widespread the world over. Professor Stefan Kaufmann, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, echoed these sentiments at today's launch of the scientific programme for the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, Germany.

2 Jul 2014

Heavy drinkers at greater risk of developing pneumonia and ARDS

Heavy drinking damages the body in many ways. In addition to liver failure, alcoholics are at a much greater risk of developing pneumonia and life threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), for which there is no treatment.

1 Jul 2014

Microparticles in crab, shrimp and lobster shells may help prevent inflammatory bowel disease

Yoshimi Shibata, Ph.D., professor of biomedical science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, has received a $380,552 grant from the National Institute of Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health to further investigate how microparticles called "chitin" found in crab, shrimp and lobster shells have anti-inflammatory mechanisms that could lead to the development of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for individuals who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and others diseases.

24 Jun 2014

NIH receives $10 million grant for research on breast cancer metastasis

The American Cancer Society predicts that 40,000 American women will die from breast cancer this year. Most of those deaths will occur due to cells from the primary tumor that spread to other parts of the body-the process known as metastasis.

20 Jun 2014

New driver of atherosclerosis may prove to be promising therapeutic target

A new driver of atherosclerosis has been identified by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. This molecule, known as 27HC (27-hydroxycholesterol), has been found to exacerbate the development of the condition, and may prove to be a promising therapeutic target.

20 Jun 2014

Exercise transiently suppresses inflammation in rheumatic disease

Research findings presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress suggest that exercise transiently suppresses local and systemic inflammation, reinforcing the beneficial effects of exercise and the need for this to be regular in order to achieve clinical efficacy in rheumatic disease.

12 Jun 2014

Interim data from Promedior’s PRM-151 Phase 2 myelofibrosis clinical trial to be presented at 19th EHA Congress

Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis, today announced that Ruben Mesa, MD, will present interim data from the Company's ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead product candidate, PRM-151, for the treatment of myelofibrosis, in a poster presentation on June 14, 2014 at the 19th Congress of European Hematology Association (EHA) which is being held in Milan, Italy, from June 12-15, 2014.

5 Jun 2014

Macrophages present in shed endometrium may contribute to lesion formation, shows study

A mouse model of endometriosis has been developed that produces endometriosis lesions similar to those found in humans, according to a report published in The American Journal of Pathology.