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Gasdermin E triggers pyroptosis and involved in pathogen-induced coral death

Pyroptosis is a highly inflammatory form of programmed necrotic cell death that acts as a defense mechanism against the infection of bacterial and viral pathogens. Pyroptosis is executed by gasdermin, a family of pore-forming proteins.

7 Dec 2020

Researchers design living plant-based sensor to track arsenic levels

For the first time, researchers from SMART have engineered a living plant-based sensor for the detection of arsenic in the belowground environment

3 Dec 2020

Specific immune mechanism in COVID-19 patients triggers inflammatory process

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have demonstrated for the first time that in COVID-19 patients an immune mechanism known as the inflammasome participates in activation of the inflammatory process that can damage several organs and even lead to death.

3 Dec 2020

Study shows metabolic state of disease-causing parasite influences its resistance to drugs

A new study has revealed how a disease-causing parasite is able to resist the present range of therapies. The study was recently published in eLife.

2 Dec 2020

Scientists conduct “molecular dissection” of part of virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease

Scientists have conducted a 'molecular dissection' of a part of the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease, to try and understand why the pathogen is so infectious.

1 Dec 2020

Scientists use genomics to track the outbreak of Yellow fever virus in São Paulo

Yellow fever virus is normally confined to the Amazon region, but the virus circulated in the Southeast of Brazil between 2016 and 2018, causing the worst epidemic and epizootic outbreaks there for decades. The Ministry of Health confirmed 2,251 cases of yellow fever in humans and 1,567 cases in monkeys in Brazil between December 2016 and June 2019.

6 Nov 2020

Composition of virus communities is shaped by host genetic factors

Plants can be infected by multiple viruses at once. However, the composition of the pathogen community varies, even if individuals belong to the same species and the same population.

6 Nov 2020

Researchers discover how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite

Working together with researchers from the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, biologists from Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite.

5 Nov 2020

Study shows memory T cells are formed earlier than previously thought

A person will acquire immunity to a specific disease when T cells develop into memory cells after making contact with pathogens.

4 Nov 2020

Similarities between animal and plant immune systems go beyond sensing

Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) and University of Cologne researcher Takaki Maekawa and colleagues have discovered that plants have independently evolved a family of immune proteins that are strikingly similar to animals.

3 Nov 2020

“Nanobiologic” immunotherapy can train the immune system to eliminate tumor cells

Until recently, it was believed that the innate immune system, the body's first line of defense, lacked the ability to remember pathogens like the adaptive immune system.

2 Nov 2020

SARS-Cov-2 spike proteins can directly impact the function of blood-brain barrier

Like a key, SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - attaches to specific molecules on the host cell surface, opening gateways into the cell interior.

30 Oct 2020

Human immune system may play a key role in shaping the microbiome composition

The gut is an unusually noisy place, where hundreds of species of bacteria live alongside whatever microbes happen to have hitched a ride in on your lunch.

30 Oct 2020

Researchers receive $2.6 million grant to examine tau-glycan interactions involved in Alzheimer's disease

Tangles of misfolded tau proteins in the brain are closely associated with memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers develop new sensors to detect gene activity

A team of researchers have developed genetic sensors that are capable of detecting the activity of genes, instead of only the genes themselves.

From The University of Warwick 27 Oct 2020

Research on broadly neutralizing antibodies may lead to universal flu vaccine

New research from an immunology team at the University of Chicago may shed light on the challenges of developing a universal flu vaccine that would provide long-lasting and broad protection against influenza viruses.

23 Oct 2020

Molecular communication may help increase the resistance of crop plants against parasitic plants

Cuscuta spp., also known as dodder, is a parasitic vine which grafts to the host plant using special suckers to obtain water, minerals and carbohydrates.

21 Oct 2020

Study explores the impact of microbial immune diversity on dynamics of host-virus interactions

CRISPR-Cas serves as a key driving force of strain diversity in host-virus systems during an evolutionary fight between the host and virus.

21 Oct 2020

Peptide therapy prevents overreaction of the immune system against infections

Individuals require enough action to remove offensive viruses or bacteria, but not so much that their body suffer a considerable damage.

From UC San Diego 15 Oct 2020

A new protein discovered that repairs DNA

Researchers have identified a new protein that makes it possible to repair DNA. The protein in question is called cryptochrome.

15 Oct 2020