Influenza News and Research

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Influenza (the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year. Every year in the United States, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications.

New Method Reveals How Hepatitis C Virus Evades Immune System

With a new method for examining virus samples researchers from the University of Copenhagen have solved an old riddle about how Hepatitis C virus avoids the human body's immune defenses.

6 Jul 2023

Influenza A Viruses Use "Tactical Strikes" to Hijack Host Cells

Influenza A is one of two influenza viruses that fuel costly annual flu seasons and is a near constant threat to humans and many other animals. It’s also responsible for occasional pandemics that, like the one in 1918, leave millions dead and wreak havoc on health systems and wider society.

23 Jun 2023

Study Characterizes the Properties of MAIT Cells in Mouse Lung

A population of unconventional white blood cells has recently captured the attention of immunologists and clinicians alike.

26 May 2023

Novel Gene-Editing Strategy Harnesses Unusual Protective Ability to Eliminate HIV-1 Infection

Genetic alterations that give rise to a rare, fatal disorder known as MOGS-CDG paradoxically also protect cells against infection by viruses.

22 May 2023

Targeting Respiratory Viral Infections with a New Immunotherapy Treatment

A researcher at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine has created a novel, more effective therapy for acute respiratory viral infections, a significant global cause of illness each year.

16 May 2023

New Approach Could Power the Development of Advanced Cell Therapies

A new approach to the genetic engineering of cells promises significant improvements in speed, efficiency, and reduction in cellular toxicity compared to current methods.

2 May 2023

Occludin Protein Plays a Critical Role in Cell-to-Cell Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Virus

While the coronavirus continues to infect people around the world, researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a specific protein inside the human body that plays a critical role in how the virus spreads from cell to cell after infection -; a discovery that will help better understand the COVID-19 disease and could lead to the development of new antiviral drugs in the future.

2 May 2023

Capturing Viruses in a Lipid Trap

Viruses like influenza A and Ebola invade human cells in a number of steps. In an interdisciplinary approach, research teams from Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital investigated the final stages of viral penetration using electron tomography and computer simulations.

26 Apr 2023

The Implications of Biological Clock on Lung Health

The body’s biological clock is interfered with by abnormal sleep habits, such as those of night shift workers, which have been connected to lung health problems.

18 Apr 2023

COVID-19 vaccines boost the levels of T cells in immunocompromised hematology patients

Researchers found that, despite being heavily immunocompromised, hematology patients generate strong cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination, on par with that of healthy individuals.

30 Mar 2023

No more needles? Future vaccines could be delivered by a puff of air

In the future, vaccines may be delivered with a puff of air rather than a needle, according to the promising results of new research presented at a meeting of the American Chemistry Society this March.

27 Mar 2023

Stickiness of influenza virus may determine the frequency of co-infection

Influenza viruses have an enormous impact in the U.S., with an estimated 25 million illnesses and 18,000 deaths in the 2022-23 flu season alone.

21 Mar 2023

Novel web-based tool deoptimizes genetic sequences based on different codon usage

A new software tool developed by Texas Biomedical Research Institute and collaborators can help scientists and vaccine developers quickly edit genetic blueprints of pathogens to make them less harmful.

16 Mar 2023

New framework to identify possible viral hazards to human health

The majority of what scientists know about viruses in animals comes from the list of nucleotides that constitute their genomic sequence, which, although useful, provides relatively few signals about a virus’ propensity to infect people.

14 Mar 2023

Small group of airway neurons plays a key role in alerting the brain about infection

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School illuminates how the brain becomes aware that there is an infection in the body.

9 Mar 2023

BGI’s fluorescent RT-PCR kit obtains market access qualification for detecting SARS-CoV-2, IFV A, IFV B in Australia

On March 2, BGI's Multiplex Real-time Fluorescent RT-PCR Kit for Detecting SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A Virus and Influenza B Virus obtained market access qualification to enter the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

8 Mar 2023

Effective and faster methodology detects RNA viruses based on the triplex-forming probe technology

Experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and the Aragon Nanoscience and Materials Institute of Aragon (INMA) -;a joint institute of the CSIC and the University of Zaragoza-; have developed a new method to detect RNA viruses based on the triplex-forming probe technology.

28 Feb 2023

Study highlights key role of group 2 innate lymphoid cells in shaping the alveolar niche

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Liège on group 2 innate lymphoid cells (or ILC2s) shows that the functional reprogramming of these cells following their exposure to viruses allows our body to react differently to exposure to certain respiratory allergens.

27 Feb 2023

Study illuminates how lung cells protect themselves against RNA viral infection

A new University of California, Irvine-led study uncovers how a protein, APOBEC3B, could protect cells against many different types of RNA viruses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV2, influenza virus, poliovirus and measles, helping to prevent disease.

23 Feb 2023

LJI receives funding from NIAID to lead the biggest human immunoprofiling effort

A new grant of over $17 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has established La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) as the leading institute for human immunology data curation, analysis, and dissemination. With this funding, LJI has taken the helm of the Human Immunology Project Consortium Data Coordinating Center, a critical tool in the effort to fuel scientific collaboration in immunoprofiling and highlight findings from the overall Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC).

16 Feb 2023