The term allergy encompasses a wide range of conditions; it is not a disease in itself. In 1906 Clemens von Pirquet was the first to describe allergies as a changed or altered reaction of the immune system in response to exposure to foreign proteins. These days the term allergy – medically termed hypersensitivity, signifies an exaggerated reaction to foreign substances.
Researchers at Emory University have uncovered a mechanism for skin cell death that might lead to novel therapies for “flesh-eating” infections, alopecia, hives, and possibly even melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.
Many people believe tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the past. Nonetheless, it claims over a million lives each year. Furthermore, the problem is escalating as Mycobacterium tuberculosis—the pathogen that causes tuberculosis develops resistance to the antibiotics used to treat the disease.
The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, can directly infect a specialized type of kidney cell.
Ocean water samples collected around the world have yielded a treasure trove of new data about RNA viruses, expanding ecological research possibilities and reshaping our understanding of how these small but significant submicroscopic particles evolved.
Researchers combined advanced computational methods with experimental studies to gain new insight, at the cell level, into how the plant compound formononetin might be used to treat food allergies.
In the current study, scientists at Baylor College of Medicine identified that the cells of humans and animals that recovered from tuberculosis had prematurely aged up to 12 to 14 years.
People who developed immunity to SARS-CoV-2, either by vaccination or contact, are expected to get some protection against the pathogen’s omicron version.
Although sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has become an effective treatment option for many allergies, about 20-30% of patients don’t respond to SLIT for Japanese cedar pollinosis–a highly common disease.
Little is understood until today on how the immune system’s natural killer (NK) cells identify which cells are infected with SARS-CoV-2.
It cakes our cars in yellow powder every spring and taunts allergy sufferers for months on end, but pollen is more than just plant sperm.
Researchers have successfully used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the genomes of the black-legged tick. To accomplish this feat, they developed an embryo injection protocol that overcame a major barrier in the field.
Researchers currently understand that the microorganisms that dwell in human intestines—the microbiome—have a wide range of effects on human health.
Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio believe it may be possible to prevent DNA changes driven by two proteins highly active in leukemia and other cancers.
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that four COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, J&J/Janssen, and Novavax) prompt the body to make effective, long-lasting T cells against SARS-CoV-2.
A viral protein might contain information that could be used to avoid pneumonia due to the body’s overactive response to respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19.
Blocking function of a blood-clotting protein prevented bone loss from periodontal (gum) disease in mice, according to research led by scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health.
A common strategy to make vaccines more powerful is to deliver them along with an adjuvant -; a compound that stimulates the immune system to produce a stronger response.
New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that treatment with antihistamines, a commonly used allergy medication, was associated with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
T cells communicate with other cells in the body in search of infections or diseases. This crosstalk relies on specialized receptors known as T cell receptors that recognize foreign molecular fragments from an infection or cancer that are presented for detection by particular molecules called major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or MHC-like.
A group of researchers recently discovered a compound that reveals potential in alleviating the symptoms of coronavirus infections.