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New Study Details H9N2 Avian Flu’s Variability and Public Health Implications

Research on H9N2 avian influenza shows extensive genetic changes, raising public health concerns and emphasizing the need for enhanced monitoring and vaccines.

4 Jun 2025

How Heterogeneous Antibody Immunity Shapes Strain Evolution

A new study found that person-to-person heterogeneity in antibody immunity influences which influenza (flu) strains dominate in a population.

4 Jun 2025

CAR-T Cell Therapy Causes “Brain Fog,” Independent of Other Cancer Treatments

After treatment with CAR-T cells - immune cells engineered to attack cancer - patients sometimes tell their doctors they feel like they have "brain fog," or forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.

13 May 2025

Scientists Use AI to Predict Future Viruses and Design Better Vaccines

Effective vaccines dramatically changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing illness, reducing disease severity, and saving millions of lives.

10 May 2025

Birds Hold Remarkable Clues to Fighting Human and Animal Infections

Australian and Dutch researchers have uncovered a remarkable evolutionary adaptation in birds that could hold vital clues for combating avian flu and respiratory infections in humans, including pneumonia and COVID-19.

24 Apr 2025

New Atlas of Chicken Genetics May Help Breed Disease Resistant Birds

An international team of researchers led by Professor Huaijun Zhou from the UC Davis Department of Animal Science has created the first-ever detailed map of how genes are regulated in chickens - a breakthrough that could help scientists breed birds that are more resistant to diseases like avian influenza.

10 Apr 2025

Study Finds Key Mechanism Behind Plasma Cell Migration for Lasting Immunity

Vaccine effectiveness relies on creating a strong antibody response that can be reactivated to fight future infections.

13 Mar 2025

$30 Million Grant Supports AI-Powered Antibody Therapy Development

An ambitious project led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators aims to use artificial intelligence technologies to generate antibody therapies against any antigen target of interest.

10 Mar 2025

New Insights into How MicroRNA Affects Bird Flu in Wildlife

Previously, researchers thought that microRNA was a kind of useless residue in cells and blood. But these tiny threads are far more important than some imagined. Also for those who study wildlife.

19 Feb 2025

Symbiotic Bacteria Accompany Single-Celled Protists in the Ocean's Upper Layer

Just as the human body serves as a habitat for bacteria and other microbes, diverse, tiny organisms known as protists host their own microbiomes.

13 Feb 2025

New Study Explains Why Flu Virus Forms Filaments

Influenza A virus particles strategically modify their shape becoming either spheres or larger filaments to enhance their ability to infect cells based on environmental conditions, according to a new study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

11 Feb 2025

Human H5N1 Bird Flu More Virulent in Mice Than Bovine Strain

Researchers from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute reported in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections that one of the first strains of bird flu to be isolated from a human in Texas exhibits a distinct set of mutations that allow it to more readily replicate in human cells and inflict more severe disease in mice than a strain found in dairy cattle.

16 Jan 2025

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

Single Mutation Could Make H5N1 Bird Flu More Dangerous to Humans

Avian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the risk of becoming a pandemic virus?

6 Dec 2024

The Dangers of Zoonotic Diseases

According to a recent study published in Nature, mice and ferrets infected in a high-containment laboratory setting died from a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus that was isolated from the eye of a farm worker who contracted the virus from contact with dairy cows.

29 Oct 2024

Understanding the Impact of Natural Flu Infections on Vaccine Effectiveness

Researchers from the University of Georgia discovered in a recent study supported by the National Institutes of Health that the effectiveness of upcoming influenza vaccinations is significantly influenced by the body's innate immunity from prior flu episodes.

1 Oct 2024