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UAB researchers identify an unnoticed additional site for priming of "killer" T cells

CD8+ T cells -; known as "killer" T cells -; are the assassins of the immune system. Once they are primed, they seek out and destroy other cells that are infected with virus or cells that are cancerous.

13 Sep 2021

Study reveals how autoimmune antibodies can predict severe cases of COVID-19

The presence of special immune system defense molecules, called autoimmune antibodies, has been strongly tied to how poorly people fare when hospitalized with COVID-19, a new study shows.

From New York University (NYU) 9 Sep 2021

Viruses buried in marsupials' DNA may help protect against future infections

Fossils of ancient viruses are preserved in the genomes of all animals, including humans, and have long been regarded as junk DNA. But are they truly junk, or do they actually serve a useful purpose?

From The University of New South Wales (UNSW) 9 Sep 2021

Gut bacteria may play a key role in neurological damage of premature infants

Extremely premature infants are at a high risk for brain damage. Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now found possible targets for the early treatment of such damage outside the brain: Bacteria in the gut of premature infants may play a key role.

6 Sep 2021

Plant bulbs harboring lethal pathogen make the perfect lab for evolving drug-resistant strains

Just when we thought it was safe to go to the local garden center, researchers from Japan have discovered that fungicide-resistant strains of a nasty pathogen have been getting up to no good among the tulip bulbs.

6 Sep 2021

Experts decode the genetic mechanism governing the speed of mRNA translation

The genetic material of all eukaryotic organisms is stored in the cell nucleus in the form of DNA. The DNA is first transcribed into messenger RNA in the cell cytoplasm and later translated into protein using ribosomes for it to be used, where ribosomes are small machines capable of decoding messenger RNA to synthesize the relevant proteins.

1 Sep 2021

Researchers demonstrate efficacy of vaccine candidates for various filoviruses

The efficacy of multiple vaccine candidates that target three filoviruses responsible for life-threatening infections to humans has been demonstrated in monkeys.

1 Sep 2021

Scientists isolate monoclonal antibodies against alphaviruses

A research group has isolated monoclonal antibodies that, in laboratory and animal studies, prohibited infection by alphaviruses.

From Vanderbilt University 24 Aug 2021

Researchers identify potent antibody that protects against a wide range of viral variants

The virus that causes COVID-19 today is not the same as the one that first sickened people way back in December 2019.

23 Aug 2021

Study reveals the biology and treatment behind rare rheumatoid-like autoinflammatory condition

The absence of a protein that activates the body's antiviral defenses can cause a rare rheumatoid-like autoinflammatory condition that is treatable with an FDA-approved class of drugs known as TNF (tumor necrosis factor) inhibitors, a global research team led by Mount Sinai has found.

20 Aug 2021

COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibody protects against delta variant

Despite causing a surge in infections this summer that has resulted in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is not particularly good at evading the antibodies generated by vaccination, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Aug 2021

Study identifies gene families responsible for simple leaf development

Recent research elucidates how simple leaves—one of the two basic forms of leaves—originate in a plant.

18 Aug 2021

New mapping tool could help trace foodborne pathogens like listeria

Listeria monocytogenes, one of the deadliest foodborne pathogens, may soon become easily traceable in food recalls and other investigations.

16 Aug 2021

Research reveals link between high-fat diet, gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease

A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut's inner lining and its microbial communities -; and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.

From Vanderbilt University 13 Aug 2021

New study could help design more effective vaccines against various COVID-19 variants

Scientists have discovered that individuals recovering from COVID-19 produce identical clones, or groups, of antibody-producing white blood cells.

From Vanderbilt University 12 Aug 2021

Study: Biomarker can predict response to immunotherapies in breast cancer patients

A biomarker that has proven to be a predictor for response to immunotherapies in melanoma patients also has clinical relevance for breast cancer patients, according to a new study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

28 Jul 2021

T cell-depleted macaques can mount potent memory responses against SARS-CoV-2

New research conducted in monkeys reveals that T cells are not critical for the recovery of primates from acute COVID-19 infections.

28 Jul 2021

Cell-analysis method could pave the way for new strategies to fight tuberculosis

A new method that analyzes how individual immune cells react to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis could pave the way for new vaccine strategies against this deadly disease, and provide insights into fighting other infectious diseases around the world.

23 Jul 2021

New transferrable and integrative type I CRISPR-based platform to efficiently edit superbugs

A research team led by Dr Aixin YAN, Associate Professor from the Research Division for Molecular & Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, in collaboration with Honorary Clinical Professor Patrick CY WOO from the Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, reported the development of a transferrable and integrative type I CRISPR-based platform.