Measles News and Research

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Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. It remains a leading cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. An estimated 197 000 people died from measles in 2007, mostly children under the age of five.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. The measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs. It is a human disease not known to occur in animals.

RNA Molecules Govern Battle Between Cholera Bacteria and Phages

Viruses need hosts. Whether it's measles, the flu or coronavirus, viral pathogens cannot multiply or infect other organisms without the assistance of their hosts' cellular infrastructure.

5 Apr 2024

No more needles? Future vaccines could be delivered by a puff of air

In the future, vaccines may be delivered with a puff of air rather than a needle, according to the promising results of new research presented at a meeting of the American Chemistry Society this March.

27 Mar 2023

Novel web-based tool deoptimizes genetic sequences based on different codon usage

A new software tool developed by Texas Biomedical Research Institute and collaborators can help scientists and vaccine developers quickly edit genetic blueprints of pathogens to make them less harmful.

16 Mar 2023

Earthquakes pose severe long-term impacts on the health of Syrian refugees

Among those in greatest peril after the devasting earthquakes in the Middle East are some 6.6 million internally displaced persons in Syria, as well as 1.9 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey, according to estimations from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

24 Feb 2023

Study illuminates how lung cells protect themselves against RNA viral infection

A new University of California, Irvine-led study uncovers how a protein, APOBEC3B, could protect cells against many different types of RNA viruses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV2, influenza virus, poliovirus and measles, helping to prevent disease.

23 Feb 2023

Infection with measles virus activates two different immune responses

Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science have found that infection with the measles virus activates not one but two different branches of the innate immune system.

15 Oct 2021

Study reveals strong link between infection rates and authoritarian attitudes, governance

According to psychologists, in addition to our physiological immune system, we also have a behavioral one: an unconscious code of conduct that helps us stay disease-free, including fear and avoidance of unfamiliar - and so possibly infected - people.

22 Sep 2021

Researchers develop a new system for rapid, sensitive measurement of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A research team at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan has developed a diagnostic system that can rapidly and sensitively measure the amount of antibodies in the blood that can protect us from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

6 Sep 2021

Three plausible solutions mitigates zoonotic risk associated with intensive animal agriculture

As early as the Neolithic period (circa 3900 BC), the domestication of animals likely led to the development of diseases including measles and smallpox. Since then, zoonotic disease has led to other major transnational outbreaks including HIV, Ebola, SARS, MERS, and H1N1 swine flu, among others.

3 Jun 2021

High-speed atomic force microscopy sheds light on structure, dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins

Kanazawa University’s pioneering high-speed atomic force microscope technology has now shed light on the structure and dynamics of some of life’s most ubiquitous and inscrutable molecules – intrinsically disordered proteins.

29 Dec 2020

MMR vaccine may be protective against COVID-19, study shows

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine has been theorized to provide protection against COVID-19. In a new study published in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers provide further proof of this by showing that mumps IgG titers, or levels of IgG antibody, are inversely correlated with severity in recovered COVID-19 patients previously vaccinated with the MMR II vaccine produced by Merck. MMR II contains the Edmonston strain of measles, the Jeryl Lynn (B-level) strain of mumps, and the Wistar RA 27/3 strain of rubella.

23 Nov 2020

Individuals infected with mild-to-moderate COVID 19 mount a robust antibody response

The vast majority of individuals infected with mild-to-moderate COVID 19 mount a robust antibody response that is relatively stable for at least five months, according to research conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published October 28, in the journal Science.

29 Oct 2020

T-cell-based vaccine strategy provides broader protection against influenza

As Americans begin pulling up their sleeves for an annual flu vaccine, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided new insights into an alternative vaccine approach that provides broader protection against seasonal influenza.

24 Sep 2020

Re-engineering antibodies to fight SARS-CoV-2 infection

With millions of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, people are turning to antibody tests to find out whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes the disease.

31 Jul 2020

Scientists discover new antiviral drug against paramyxovirus

A new antiviral drug that is effective against a broad range of human pathogens in the paramyxovirus family, such as the human parainfluenzaviruses and measles virus, has been discovered by researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

14 Jul 2020

Study shows MMR vaccine may protect against COVID-19 symptoms

According to a group of experts, the administration of the MMR vaccine could act as a preventive measure to reduce inflammation linked to COVID-19 infection.

22 Jun 2020

Novel mechanism allows the immune system to control autoimmunity, cancer

Scientists at the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) revealed a novel mechanism through which the immune system can control autoimmunity and cancer.

7 May 2020