Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Neutralizing antibodies are produced after SARS-CoV-2 infection

A research group from Osaka University led by Professor Hisashi Arase and consisting of researchers from the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, the Institute for Protein Research, the Immunology Frontier Research Center, the Center for Infectious Diseases, and the Graduate School of Medicine has discovered for the first time that both neutralizing antibodies that protect against infection as well as infection-enhancing antibodies that increase infectivity are produced after infection with SARS-CoV-2 by analyzing antibodies derived from COVID-19 patients.

From Osaka University 26 May 2021

New projections can help support COVID-19 patients experiencing homelessness

A new study provides public health planning authorities with a method of calculating the number of COVID-19 isolation beds they would need for people experiencing homelessness based on level of infection in the city.

21 May 2021

Researchers discover canine coronavirus in East Malaysia

Researchers have discovered a new coronavirus, found in a child with pneumonia in Malaysia in 2018, that appears to have jumped from dog to human.

21 May 2021

Many do not recognise animal agriculture's link to infectious diseases

New research led by the University of Kent has found that people fail to recognize the role of factory farming in causing infectious diseases.

14 May 2021

Epigenetic changes drive the fate of a B cell

B cells are the immune cells responsible for creating antibodies, and most B cells produce antibodies in response to a pathogen or a vaccine, providing immunity.

14 May 2021

New genetic database maps how immune disorders evolve

A first-of-its-kind genetic database for autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders has been created by Japanese researchers.

4 May 2021

Processed diet reduces gut bacteria and promotes encroachment of microbiota into the intestine

Processed diets, which are low in fiber, may initially reduce the incidence of foodborne infectious diseases such as E. coli infections, but might also increase the incidence of diseases characterized by low-grade chronic infection and inflammation such as diabetes, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

29 Apr 2021

Low-dose administration of MERS DNA vaccine protects against COVID-19

The Wistar Institute has developed a synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

26 Apr 2021

Study finds raised levels of specific immune cells in asymptomatic people with COVID-19

The largest study of its type in the UK has identified differences in the immune response to COVID-19, between people with no symptoms, compared to those suffering a more serious reaction to the virus.

21 Apr 2021

Chemical biomarker levels reflect varying severity of COVID-19 symptoms

Varying severity of COVID-19 symptoms in patients is reflected by levels of a chemical biomarker in their body which scientists say could be used to better manage treatments and other interventions, including vaccinations.

20 Apr 2021

Scientists characterize the genetic diversity of populations in the South Pacific

Describing the genetic diversity of human populations is essential to improve our understanding of human diseases and their geographical distribution.

From Institut Pasteur 15 Apr 2021

Low K777 concentrations inhibit cathepsin L and reduce SARS-CoV-2’s ability to infect host cell lines

For a long time, James McKerrow, MD, PhD, dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego, has investigated neglected tropical diseases, which are chronic, disabling parasitic infections mainly affecting the poor and underserved communities in developing nations.

From UC San Diego 5 Apr 2021

B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 spreading quickly in the United States

The faster-spreading B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 first detected in the United Kingdom, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is quickly on its way to becoming the dominant variant of the virus in the United States, according to a study from scientists at Scripps Research and the COVID-19 test maker Helix.

31 Mar 2021

Salivary gland cells could play role in SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission

Scientists have shown that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can infect specific cells in the salivary gland in the mouth.

26 Mar 2021

New label-free immune profiling assay to assess rapidly changing host immune response

Researchers from Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP), an Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, have developed a new label-free immune profiling assay that profiles the rapidly changing host immune response in case of infection, in a departure from existing methods that focus on detecting the pathogens themselves, which can often be at low levels within a host.

26 Mar 2021

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 antibodies wane at different rates

Researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Infectious Diseases Labs have discovered that antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 decline at different speeds, and these antibodies last for only a few days in some people but remain for many years in other individuals.

24 Mar 2021

Revealing clues about the immune system through ancient DNA

AZoLifeSciences speaks to Dr. Gaspard Kerner about tuberculosis, and how ancient DNA could help us to further understand the immune system.

From Institut Pasteur 12 Mar 2021

Legal wildlife trade needs monitoring to reduce emerging zoonotic diseases

With three out of four newly emerging infectious human diseases originating in animals, there is an urgent need to monitor the legal trade in wildlife, according to new research by Vincent Nijman, Professor in Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University.

5 Mar 2021

Genomics study examines the impact of COVID-19 on care homes

Care homes are at high risk of experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Older people and those affected by heart disease, respiratory disease and type 2 diabetes - all of which increase with age - are at greatest risk of severe disease and even death, making the care home population especially vulnerable.

4 Mar 2021

Researchers identify gene variant associated with childhood asthma

Researchers at Henry Ford Health System, as part of a national asthma collaborative, have identified a gene variant associated with childhood asthma that underscores the importance of including diverse patient populations in research studies.

1 Mar 2021