Disease/Infection News

RSS

Breakthrough in Understanding Semliki Forest Virus Neuro-Invasion

In a recent study, researchers from Uppsala University show that the Semliki Forest virus enters the central nervous system by first entering the cerebrospinal fluid and then binding to a specific cell type before penetrating deeper into the brain.

16 Jan 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 Analysis Sheds Light on How Staphylococcus aureus Evades the Immune System

The most detailed study to date on the mechanisms by which a common type of bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, adapts to living on the human body could help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of certain infections.

15 Jan 2025

New Genetic Risk Factor Identified for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Researchers have identified a novel genetic risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection, providing new insights into the virus' ability to invade human cells. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that spreads COVID-19.

15 Jan 2025

Study Reveals T Cells as Key Players in Complete Viral Infection Control

Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and the Singapore General Hospital have discovered that T cells-white blood cells that can destroy harmful pathogens-can completely prevent viral infection, to an extent previously thought only possible due to neutralizing antibodies.

13 Jan 2025

Unexpected Role for CDKN2A Gene in Esophageal Cancer Progression

Scientists from the Barts Cancer Institute and the Francis Crick Institute have demonstrated that a genetic flaw that has long been thought to cause esophageal cancer may actually protect against the disease in its early stages.

6 Jan 2025

NIH Study Reveals Potent Antibodies for Malaria Prevention

A novel class of antibodies that binds to a previously untargeted portion of the malaria parasite could lead to new prevention methods, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published today in Science.

6 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

Researchers Map Influenza Virus RNA Protective Coat at Atomic Level

To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilizing its genome, made up of eight RNA molecules.

17 Dec 2024

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

Peat Bog Fungi as a Reservoir of Anti-Tuberculosis Compounds

An analysis of fungi collected from peat bogs has revealed several species that produce substances toxic to the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis in humans.

4 Dec 2024

Enterococcus Co-Infection Increases Protective Slime in Pathogenic E. coli

A new study finds that two subtypes of pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) produce five to 16 times more protective capsular "slime" when Enterococcus faecalis (EF) is present.

3 Dec 2024

LysoTRAP Strategy Offers Hope for Clearing Viral Infections Across Variants

Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have recently developed a novel lysosomal strategy for clearing viruses and their variants.

28 Nov 2024

Novel Fungal Commensal Shaping Mouse Immune Responses

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have found a fungus in the stomach of mice that may provide a clue to the evolution of fungi in the gastrointestinal tract.

28 Nov 2024

New Tool to Unravel the Secrets of Malaria Parasite Adhesion

To better understand the highly varied characteristics that enable malaria parasites to adhere to red blood cells and elude the immune system, researchers have developed a new tool.

27 Nov 2024

Study Reveals Mystery Behind Extra Genes in Coronaviruses

Viruses are lean, mean, infection machines. Their genomes are tiny, usually limited to a handful of absolutely essential genes, and they shed extra genomic deadweight extremely fast.

20 Nov 2024

Hepatitis E Virus Impairs Neuronal Cells, Reducing Neurite Length

For the first time, scientists can examine the effects of hepatitis E viruses on nerve cells using a novel cell model.

19 Nov 2024

SARS-CoV-2 Outwits Immune System, Prolonging Infection

SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the function of the complement system, a crucial element of early antiviral immunity, by hijacking three crucial host proteins, according to research from the Medical Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck.

11 Nov 2024

A New Understanding of Viral Infection

Scientists studying animal viruses with the potential to infect humans have discovered a critical protein that could facilitate the spread of a family of organisms known as arteriviruses.

1 Nov 2024

Study Links Archaic Gene Variant to Health Risks in First Nations Oceanians

An ancient gene mutation among First Nations inhabitants of Oceania may make them more susceptible to infectious diseases like influenza, according to a new study by scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

30 Oct 2024