Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Shot may help reduce risk of shingles

Anyone who has had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine is at risk for the painful skin condition herpes zoster, more commonly known as shingles. Both diseases are caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which stays in the body after chickenpox clears and may reactivate later in life.

18 Feb 2018

Study provides new insights on why healthy children die from flu

With this year's severe flu season, one statistic is especially chilling. Each year, around 50 percent of all children under 5 years old who die from the flu were previously healthy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

16 Feb 2018

Stem cell vaccine helps protect mice against numerous cancers, finds study

Lab mice injected with inactivated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) displayed a significant immune response against lung, breast, and skin cancers. The vaccine also prevented relapses in animals with removed tumors.

16 Feb 2018

Oncolytic virus alerts the immune system to attack tumors

A new UC San Francisco study has shown that a cancer-killing virus currently in clinical trials may function as a cancer vaccine - in addition to killing some cancer cells directly, the virus alerts the immune system to the presence of a tumor, triggering a powerful, widespread immune response that kills cancer cells far outside the virus-infected region.

14 Feb 2018

Flu raises risk of heart attacks

A new study reveals that persons who have been diagnosed with influenza confirmed with laboratory diagnostic tests, are around six times more likely to be admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or heart attack within a week compared to their risk before they had had the flu.

14 Feb 2018

Measles vaccination provides child survival benefits beyond protecting against infection

In the largest study to date on children in a low/ middle-income country, new research in Ghana finds that the timing of a measles vaccine in an overall vaccination schedule can have a profound impact on child survival rates beyond protecting against measles infection.

12 Feb 2018

Impairing rare group of intestinal cells allows gut bacteria to cause inflammation, study finds

The human microbiome - the trillions of tiny bacteria that live in and on our bodies - is emerging as an increasingly important player in health and wellness. But, our co-existence with these organisms is complex, and scientists are learning that even minor changes in this relationship can lead to big problems with our health.

9 Feb 2018

Breakthrough study on mosquito brains could crack the code to creating viable Zika vaccine

Deakin neuro-engineers have conducted an investigation into how mosquito brains are affected by the Zika virus, in a breakthrough study that could crack the code to creating a viable vaccine.

9 Feb 2018

Researchers develop safe, potent mRNA vaccine adjuvants that can elicit effective immune response

Production of conventional vaccines, which involves the use of live-attenuated or purified protein subunits of pathogens, is a long and complex process. Nucleic acid vaccines are safer alternatives, and allow easy adjustment of antigen to target specific pathogens.

9 Feb 2018

Cholesterol and other lipids in the blood play role in many diseases

Lipids are fatty molecules that play important signaling and storage roles in the body, but having an excess of some lipids, like cholesterol, is a risk factor for many metabolic diseases.

8 Feb 2018

Human antibodies against malaria parasite can prevent spread of disease

Malaria is a disease that spreads incredibly efficiently. The antimalarial medicines that are currently used cannot do much to stop this, because the parasites remain in the patient's blood for a long time after treatment.

8 Feb 2018

IU scientists take important step to fight against hepatitis B with 'virus-cracking' molecules

Indiana University researchers have made an important step forward in the design of drugs that fight the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver failure and liver cancer.

7 Feb 2018

Researchers report technical advances in production of HIV vaccines

Research on HIV over the past decade has led to many promising ideas for vaccines to prevent infection by the AIDS virus, but very few candidate vaccines have been tested in clinical trials.

6 Feb 2018

Researchers pave way toward new therapeutic approach for gonorrhea

Researchers are paving the way toward a new therapeutic approach for gonorrhea by shedding light on the mechanism behind important proteins on the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria's outer membrane.

6 Feb 2018

Discovery opens new doors to developing vaccines for preventing staph skin infections

After years of investigation, researchers at Johns Hopkins, the University of California, Davis, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered how the immune system might protect a person from recurrent bacterial skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (staph).

6 Feb 2018