Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

H7N9 virus continues to spread; International research team traveling to China to assist

"Two more people in China have died from a new strain of avian influenza, bringing to 16 the number of deaths from the H7N9 virus, and the government has warned that the number of infections could rise," Reuters reports.

18 Apr 2013

CRISPR helps some bacteria evade mammalian immune system

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses, has been found to be involved in helping some bacteria evade the mammalian immune system.

18 Apr 2013

Blog interviews head of Ghana's immunization program

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog features an interview with K.O. Antwi-Agyei, a physician who "manages the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Ghana, where he oversees the day-to-day work to ensure vaccines reach children across the country."

18 Apr 2013

IDRI, Medicago announce positive Phase I clinical trial results for avian flu pandemic vaccine

IDRI, a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles, today reported positive interim results from a Phase I clinical trial for an H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate.

18 Apr 2013

Study shows association between physical activity, reduced mortality among breast cancer survivors

Breast cancer survivors are among the women who could most benefit from regular physical activity, yet few meet national exercise recommendations during the 10 years after being diagnosed, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

18 Apr 2013

New York Times examines indictments of Sierra Leone health officials over misuse of GAVI funding

The New York Times examines the indictment of 29 top health officials "by Sierra Leone's anticorruption agency on charges of misappropriating a half-million dollars in grants from" the GAVI Alliance.

17 Apr 2013

Flunisyn Phase 2a trial data shows positive results in elderly population

Following the widely publicised US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in February that the current season's flu vaccine is only 9% effective in the over-65 population, Immune Targeting Systems Limited, today announces positive data from a Phase 2a trial with the Company's lead pan-strain influenza A T-cell vaccine, Flunisyn, in the elderly population.

17 Apr 2013

Reports of H7N9 cases, deaths continue from across China

"Two more people have died in China from a new strain of bird flu, raising the death toll from the virus to 13, state media reported Sunday," the Associated Press reports.

16 Apr 2013

Pakistani Taliban deny responsibility for attacks on polio workers

"The Pakistani Taliban on Friday denied any involvement in attacks on polio workers, which have killed 21 people since December, but confirmed it opposed the vaccination as 'un-Islamic,'" Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Apr 2013

Lessons learned from India's polio response could help country combat other diseases

"More than 400 signatories to [a scientific declaration urging the world to eradicate polio], hailing from 80 countries, believe polio eradication is achievable in large part because of the great gains India has made against the disease," T. Jacob John, a retired professor of clinical virology at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, writes in the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog.

16 Apr 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

The pathogen that we are talking about is called streptococcus pneumoniae. That is a fairly common bacteria and if you did a nasal swab you would find that quite a lot of people have this bacterium living in their nasal passages.

16 Apr 2013

UK's first TEDMEDLive Bristol event to be held at MShed

Could the quantum computing revolution transform drug development, are there new approaches for improving sleep and do people benefit from being diagnosed with early-stage dementia? These are some of the questions that will be discussed at the UK's first TEDMEDLive Bristol event at the MShed on Thursday [18 April].

16 Apr 2013

Supreme Court to decide crucial case on patenting human genes

The high court will hear a challenge to Myriad Genetics' patent of breast and ovarian cancer genes in a case that will affect the future of biomedical research, the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer and a multi-billion dollar biotechnology business.

16 Apr 2013

New report reveals abuse of students working in anthropology field

College athletes are not the only ones who sometimes suffer at the hands of higher ups. A new report brings to light a more hidden and pernicious problem - the psychological, physical and sexual abuse of students in the field of biological anthropology working in field studies far from home.

15 Apr 2013

Global commitment needed for polio eradication

"I have spent my career seeking to understand and tackling deadly viruses, from ebola to HIV. But polio stands out because, unlike these diseases, we already hold the key to its eradication: effective vaccines," Peter Piot, director and professor of global health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, writes in The Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog.

15 Apr 2013

New data on T cells' protective role suggests need for new approach to dengue vaccine design

As efforts to create a strong and effective vaccine for the dreaded dengue virus continue to hit snags, a new study from researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology offers surprising evidence that suggests the need for a revamped approach to dengue vaccine design.

15 Apr 2013

Research demonstrates complex interaction between aging and cancer

Cancer is clearly an age-related disease. Recent research in both aging and cancer has demonstrated the complex interaction between the two phenomena.

15 Apr 2013

Published report describes 3 cases of H7N9; Researchers developing quick test, vaccine

A new report by a team of Chinese researchers describing the cases of three people who died of the H7N9 avian flu strain in China "was published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine along with a commentary from American health officials, who said the disease 'raises many urgent questions and global public health concerns,'" the New York Times reports.

15 Apr 2013

400 scientists from 80 countries sign Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication

"Around 400 scientists from 80 countries have come together to declare that polio could be wiped off the face of the Earth in five years if plans to eliminate both wild and vaccine-derived polioviruses are implemented," SciDev.Net reports (Malhotra, 4/11).

15 Apr 2013

Genetic analysis of H7N9 portrays that virus evolves to adapt to human cells

A genetic analysis of the avian flu virus responsible for at least nine human deaths in China portrays a virus evolving to adapt to human cells, raising concern about its potential to spark a new global flu pandemic.

15 Apr 2013