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Researchers Develop Mycobacteria Strains with Kill Switches for Safer TB Vaccines

Working toward more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed two strains of mycobacteria with "kill switches" that can be triggered to stop the bacteria after they activate an immune response.

26 Feb 2025

New Strategy Targets Bacterial Communication to Combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is notorious for its role in food spoilage and infections, posing a significant threat to both food safety and human health.

26 Feb 2025

T Cells May Hold the Secret to Fighting Dengue Virus

Children who experience multiple cases of dengue virus develop an army of dengue-fighting T cells, according to a new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).

25 Feb 2025

Zika Virus Hijacks Placental Tunnels to Evade Immune Defense

Infection with Zika virus in pregnancy can lead to neurological disorders, fetal abnormalities and fetal death. Until now, how the virus manages to cross the placenta, which nurtures the developing fetus and forms a strong barrier against microbes and chemicals that could harm the fetus, has not been clear.

24 Feb 2025

New Insights into How MicroRNA Affects Bird Flu in Wildlife

Previously, researchers thought that microRNA was a kind of useless residue in cells and blood. But these tiny threads are far more important than some imagined. Also for those who study wildlife.

19 Feb 2025

New Study Explains Why Flu Virus Forms Filaments

Influenza A virus particles strategically modify their shape becoming either spheres or larger filaments to enhance their ability to infect cells based on environmental conditions, according to a new study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

11 Feb 2025

Uncovering a New Mechanism in Immune Cell Regulation During Parasitic Infections

Researchers at the University of Liège (Belgium) have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that regulates the immune response against parasites.

10 Feb 2025

New Method Helps Detect Mutations Causing Immune Escape in Viruses

Viruses are masters at disguise. When they are pushed too far by our immune system, they send new virus variants into play that are no longer recognized by immune cells.

31 Jan 2025

Studies Reveal Early Resistance to Newly Developed Antibiotics

Researchers from the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (Hungary), have made a concerning discovery about the future of antibiotics. Two recent studies, published just days apart in Nature Microbiology and Science Translational Medicine found that resistance can develop against new antibiotics even before they are widely used, compromising their effectiveness from the start.

31 Jan 2025

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