Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Ten Shared Gene Clusters Map Common Immune Response Pathways Across Diseases

Researchers have identified patterns of gene activity associated with severe COVID-19 in children that are shared with other serious respiratory infections.

9 Oct 2026

In Vitro Herd Immunity Threshold Experimentally Demonstrated Without Uniform Mixing Assumptions

A research team led by Professor Sungsu Park of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Byung Mook Weon of the School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a compact, centimeter-scale microfluidic "Herd-Immunity-on-a-Chip" platform that recreates key features of viral transmission in human societies within a controllable laboratory system.

8 Oct 2026

Targeting Host Cellular Repair Mechanisms Enhances Tissue Resistance to Infection

Epithelial cells form the body's frontline barriers, helping keep microbes, toxins, and other harmful substances out. Yet these protective cells are constantly exposed to threats, including microbial infections.

6 Oct 2026

Researchers Develop Metax Profiler for Accurate Microbial Taxonomic Identification

HZI team develops a computational tool for accurate identification and abundance estimation of microorganisms in complex samples.

29 Sep 2026

Type I Interferon Pathway Identified as Crucial Innate Viral Defense

Tick populations are expanding across the U.S., driving an increase in tick-borne diseases. Among them is Powassan virus, a rare but increasingly reported infection that can cause severe brain inflammation and lasting neurological complications.

25 Sep 2026

Latent HIV Viral Proteins Drive Persistent Low-Grade Brain Inflammation During ART

Antiretroviral drugs let people with HIV live full-length lives, but cognitive problems often persist. Some studies have found cognitive impairment in as many as half of people receiving antiretroviral therapy, although estimates vary and many cases do not interfere with daily activities.

24 Sep 2026

New Screening Program Increases Detection of Congenital Cytomegalovirus in Newborns

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic Children's have developed a new screening program for congenital cytomegalovirus, the most common infection passed from mothers to babies during pregnancy.

23 Sep 2026

Infected Macrophages Release Inflammatory Signals That Accelerate Surrounding Lung Infection

In the sickest COVID-19 patients, the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn't just cause severe damage by directly infecting airway cells.

22 Sep 2026

Researchers Discover Dual Immune Mechanisms Controlling Latent HIV Vectors

There is no cure for HIV. While scientists have made considerable progress in controlling the infection, patients still must take daily antiretroviral medication for the rest of their lives.

18 Sep 2026

Researchers Discover Groundbreaking Protein-Stabilizing Antiviral for Ebola

A University of Minnesota-led multi-institutional research team has discovered a highly potent small molecule that blocks Ebola virus entry by stabilizing the virus's entry protein and provides strong protection when given orally in a preclinical model.

10 Sep 2026

New Platform Promises Rapid Vaccine Monitoring and Biomarker Discovery for Emerging Pathogens

A research team comprising Associate Professor FUNAKOSHI Yohei, Associate Professor YAKUSHIJIN Kimikazu, Professor MINAMI Hironobu, and Associate Professor OHJI Goh of Kobe University, together with graduate student MASUDA Genki, then-graduate student IIZUMI Shunsuke, Associate Professor OHUE Masahito, and colleagues at the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a new analysis method, LM-QASAS.

9 Sep 2026

Essential SNX5 Protein Alerts Human Immune Cells to Tuberculosis Infections

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a protein that helps the immune system respond to tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's leading infectious diseases.

31 Aug 2026

Novel T-Cell Engineering Strategy Prevents Deadly Osteosarcoma Lung Metastasis

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that removing the gene for Regnase-1 from engineered immune cells makes them more effective at treating relapsed osteosarcoma.

26 Aug 2026

Researchers Map First Chromosome-Scale Genomes for Sustainable Prairie Crops

The Land Institute and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, in collaboration with key partners, have assembled the first chromosome-scale, haplotype-phased genomes for Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed, silflower) and Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant, silphie).

25 Aug 2026

Scientists Discover Cluster of Genetic Variants Resisting Common Malaria Treatments

Researchers searching for genetic clues to the growing problem of malaria drug resistance identified new mutations associated with the parasite's decreased susceptibility to current treatment.

18 Aug 2026

New Single-Cell Database Reveals Hidden Inner Workings of Spinal Cord Circuits

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital created a single-cell atlas of a key class of spinal neurons involved in motor coordination. From that resource, they identified a small subgroup of interneurons associated with the speed of rhythmic movements such as walking. The findings, which have implications for understanding spinal cord function and recovery from injury, were published today in Nature Communications.

11 Aug 2026

Shuttling Gene Activating Proteins Through Packed Histones Treats Neurodegenerative Disease

Cells can switch off genes by tightly packaging DNA around proteins called histones.

6 Aug 2026

Newly Identified Protein Prevents T Cells From Destroying Cancer Cells

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have identified a protein that cancer cells use to suppress the body's immune response, a finding that could support the development of new treatments to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies.

5 Aug 2026

Malaria Infection Causes Permanent Damage to Resident Splenic CD163 Macrophages

Macrophages formed in the bone marrow can only assume the function of embryonal phagocytes, or "scavenger cells," to a certain degree according to a study by the University of Bonn and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne.

5 Aug 2026

Natural Product Derivatives Show High Potency Against Drug-Resistant Malaria Strains

Parasites are becoming highly resistant to existing drugs, and hence scientists at the University of California, Riverside are developing new drugs for the two major parasitic infectious diseases—babesiosis and malaria.

3 Aug 2026