Immune System News and Research

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Genetic Sequencing Breakthrough Reveals Rapid Spread of New Pathogens

Researchers have come up with a new way to identify more infectious variants of viruses or bacteria that start spreading in humans - including those causing flu, COVID, whooping cough and tuberculosis.

2 Jan 2025

Fruit Flies Evolve New Defense Through Gene Transfer

In the continual arms race between parasites and their hosts, innovation was thought to be the key to a successful attack or defense that one-ups the competition.

26 Dec 2024

New Treatment Targets Tumor Microenvironment to Fight Breast Cancer

"Build your enemy a golden bridge to retreat across" is a piece of advice offered by Sun Tzu in his ancient military treatise, The Art of War. It turns out that cancerous growths adopt this strategy in their battle against the immune system.

24 Dec 2024

Space Experiment Reveals Surprising Brain Cell Behavior

Microgravity exposure accelerates brain cell development in organoids, revealing potential implications for neurodegenerative disease research and space health.

18 Dec 2024

Scientists Discover Key to Overcoming Cancer's Evasion Tactics

A cunning culprit that aids cancer cells in avoiding CAR T cell therapy has been identified by researchers at City of Hope®, one of the biggest and most cutting-edge cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, with a comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles that is ranked among the top five cancer centers in the country by US News & World Report.

18 Dec 2024

Boosting Nutrition with Homegrown Vitamin B2

Many vitamins are produced in chemical factories, usually synthetically. Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark have developed a natural and easy way to produce vitamin B2: by gently heating lactic acid bacteria.

12 Dec 2024

Study Reveals How Toxoplasma Parasite Evades Drug Treatment by Altering Protein Production

A study by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers sheds new light on how Toxoplasma gondii parasites make the proteins they need to enter a dormant stage that allows them to escape drug treatment.

10 Dec 2024

Rising Temperatures Linked to Immune Decline in Capuchin Monkeys

The immune performance of wild capuchin monkeys declines when the animals experience higher temperatures, and younger monkeys seem to be particularly vulnerable to heat, according to a University of Michigan study.

2 Dec 2024

The Immune System’s Role in Neurodegenerative Disease

Researchers have discovered a new connection between Parkinson’s disease development and the immune system.

2 Dec 2024

Novel Fungal Commensal Shaping Mouse Immune Responses

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have found a fungus in the stomach of mice that may provide a clue to the evolution of fungi in the gastrointestinal tract.

28 Nov 2024

Mitochondria Found to Play Key Role in Balancing Cell Death and Inflammatory Response

Whether cells in the human body survive or die under stress depends, among other things, on their mitochondria.

27 Nov 2024

New Tool to Unravel the Secrets of Malaria Parasite Adhesion

To better understand the highly varied characteristics that enable malaria parasites to adhere to red blood cells and elude the immune system, researchers have developed a new tool.

27 Nov 2024

Promising New Target for Cancer Immunotherapy

Sensing infection and cellular change is essential for effective immunity. Human cells have a specialized chemical called MR1 on their surface.

27 Nov 2024

New Role for the Golgi Apparatus in Cancer Immunotherapy

The Golgi apparatus modifies, sorts, and packages proteins to be sent to their final destinations, whether that is within or outside of the cell.

25 Nov 2024

New Vector Systems Open the Door for Efficient Genetic Modification

A recent breakthrough in biotechnology promises to change the landscape of plant genetic engineering. Imagine a persistent invader-;Agrobacterium-;long used to deliver genes into plants. Despite its historical success, the journey has been fraught with setbacks, especially with crops that launch fierce immune defenses.

25 Nov 2024

Hepatitis E Virus Impairs Neuronal Cells, Reducing Neurite Length

For the first time, scientists can examine the effects of hepatitis E viruses on nerve cells using a novel cell model.

19 Nov 2024

Unveiling the Mechanisms of Phenotypic Heterogeneity in M. tuberculosis

The only single-celled organism ever found to sustain a steady growth rate throughout its life cycle is the rod-shaped tuberculosis (TB) bacterium, which the World Health Organization has once again named the leading infectious disease killer worldwide.

18 Nov 2024

New Technology Isolates Key Gut Bacteria Linked to Disease

Researchers at UMC Utrecht have created a novel technique that effectively separates a particular subset of gut bacteria that are identified by IgA antibodies from fecal samples.

15 Nov 2024

Intricate Relationship Between Goblet Cells and the Gut Microbiome

In a new study, scientists from the University of California, San Diego have shed light on the crucial function goblet cells—specialized gut-lining cells—play in preserving a balanced and healthy immune environment in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Dr. Fernanda Raya Tonetti led the project, and Dr. Cristina Llorente made important contributions.

13 Nov 2024

New Strategy Reinvigorates Exhausted T Cells to Fight Cancer

As cancer cells grow, they pump out metabolic byproducts such as lactic acid into the tumor microenvironment. Exhausted T cells -; which have lost their cancer-fighting oomph -; consume this lactic acid, which further saps their energy, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

11 Nov 2024