Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

New study provides insights into developmental organization of the brain

What makes us human, and where does this mysterious property of "humanness" come from? Humans are genetically similar to chimpanzees and bonobos, yet there exist obvious behavioral and cognitive differences.

13 Feb 2019

Scientists discover new mechanism by which sleep supports the immune system

Getting enough sleep is vital to supporting our immune system in fighting off pathogens - so much is common knowledge. But what we don't know is how exactly sleep affects certain immune functions.

12 Feb 2019

Research reveals critical immunological axis that triggers cancer-promoting chronic inflammation

A Massachusetts General Hospital research team has identified interaction between two elements of the immune system as critical for the transformation of a protective immune response into chronic, cancer-promoting inflammation.

12 Feb 2019

Immunotherapy may be better than chemotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma

The first study of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab as the initial treatment for patients with a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma reports better responses and longer survival than expected with conventional chemotherapy.

11 Feb 2019

Scientists develop novel way with genome sequences to study widespread form of malaria

Scientists at the Institute of Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have developed a novel way with genome sequences to study and better understand transmission, treat and ultimately eradicate Plasmodium vivax, the most widespread form of malaria. P. vivax is a single-celled transmitted by mosquitoes.

11 Feb 2019

Unexpected discovery points to potential new treatment for autoimmune disorder

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified an unexpected contributor to rheumatoid arthritis that may help explain the painful flare-ups associated with the disease.

8 Feb 2019

Compounds found in fish oil may prevent pregnancy complications, finds study

Compounds found in fish oil prevent pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, neonatal death, and stillbirth, in mice when the complications are caused by a common oral bacteria, according to research published today in the journal JCI Insight.

8 Feb 2019

New research on viral biology could lead to efficient vaccines against leishmaniasis

New research from McGill University has found that a virus infecting the Leishmania parasite spreads by exploiting a mechanism used for cell-to-cell communication, a discovery that could pave the way to new vaccines against infections that cause severe disfiguration.

8 Feb 2019

Spectrum's ultra-fast digitizer enables breakthrough in cell sorting

Cell sorting plays a fundamental role in molecular biology, pathology, immunology and virology research. It requires the ability to rapidly search through and sort out cells based on their unique chemical features and shapes.

From Spectrum Instrumentation GmbH 6 Feb 2019

Study uncovers how lung tissue remodels to support immune response to influenza

Immunology researchers at the Babraham Institute have discovered how lung tissue in mice is remodelled in response to infection with influenza in order to support an immune system response.

6 Feb 2019

Research could provide a new way to treat organ scarring in future

The increased deposition of connective tissue is a problem in chronic diseases of many organs such as the lungs, liver, kidneys, gut, and the skin.

6 Feb 2019

HIV-1 protein plays broader role in suppressing immune response than thought

Scientists have revealed how a protein produced by HIV-1 plays a broader role in suppressing the immune system's response to infection than previously thought.

6 Feb 2019

New path toward improving effectiveness of chemotherapy in breast, ovarian cancer

People who inherit a faulty copy of the so-called "breast cancer genes" BRCA1 and BRCA2 are at high risk of cancer. About 10 percent of breast cancer cases and 15 percent of ovarian cancers can be traced back to a flaw in one of these genes.

5 Feb 2019

Gut microbes could be linked to depression

The human gut contains trillions of bacteria that form the gut microbiome or microbiota. A new research has linked the composition of this gut microbiome and depressive disorder.

4 Feb 2019

Salk researchers pin down why some patients don't respond to common antidepressants

The most commonly prescribed antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, lift the fog of depression for many people. But for around a third of people with major depressive disorder, SSRIs don't make much of a difference.

1 Feb 2019

Study reveals how whipworms cause destruction in the gut

Signaling through interleukin-10 (IL-10) receptors on gut immune cells plays a critical role in protecting the gut lining and microbiota from disruption caused by whipworms, according to a study published January 31 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by María Duque-Correa of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, and colleagues.

1 Feb 2019

Research may provide a new way to treat organ scarring

Scientists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Department of Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, headed by Prof. Dr. Georg Schett, have now decrypted a molecular network that controls these processes and could in future provide a new way to treat organ scarring.

1 Feb 2019

Researchers uncover how the immune system protects from bowel cancer

Researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a protective mechanism which is used by the body to protect intestinal stem cells from turning cancerous.

31 Jan 2019

Growing concern about incidence of chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease is defined as an abnormality of kidney structure or function that persists for more than three months. It is prevalent, affecting 10.4% of men and 11.8% of women, worldwide. Chronic kidney disease can progress such that between 5.3 and 10.5 million people need kidney replacement therapy in the form of dialysis or transplantation.

31 Jan 2019

Study opens new avenue for treating ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease

An international study led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) has found that Lactobacillus bacteria present in the intestinal microbiota interact with immune system cells to strengthen the intestinal barrier.

31 Jan 2019