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Researchers Uncover Unique Protective Mechanism in Pancreatic Cells

Researchers from the University of Cologne have revealed a mechanism protecting pancreatic β-cells, which are crucial for insulin production from inflammatory cell death. The study investigated the role of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) in regulating β-cell survival.

1 Aug 2024

Swabbing Technique Reveals Diversity of Immune Cells in the Upper Airway

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published the first-ever, in-depth analysis of immune cell memory in the upper airways of adult volunteers. Among these immune cells, the researcher spotted "tissue resident" memory cells, which stand ready to defend the airway from SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases.

1 Aug 2024

Harvard Researchers Crack the Code on Western Equine Encephalitis Decline

The story of the rise and fall of western equine encephalitis as a lethal disease offers essential lessons about how a pathogen can gain or lose its ability to jump from animals to humans.

29 Jul 2024

Researchers Discover How Common Bacteria can Accelerate Wound Closure in Diabetics

There are many important reasons for keeping cuts and sores clean, but new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that a certain bug, Alcaligenes faecalis (A. faecalis), can facilitate healing of hard-to-treat wounds among people with diabetes.

26 Jul 2024

Dairy Cattle Become Hosts for Avian Flu Transmission

A new study reveals evidence that avian influenza has spilled over from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states, resulting in mammal-to-mammal transmission between cows and from cows to cats and a raccoon.

25 Jul 2024

Decoding Dengue: The Use of Less Efficient Codons for Viral Advantage

Mosquito-borne viral infections once confined to tropical regions are spreading. Dengue virus infects up to 400 million people worldwide each year according to World Health Organization estimates, and no available treatments exist for this disease.

24 Jul 2024

UNC Charlotte Study: SARS-CoV-2 Variants BA.2.86 and JN.1 Show Minimal Immune Evasion

New research from UNC Charlotte's Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) has found that the two recent and prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a high number of mutations compared to Omicron.

22 Jul 2024

Marginal Zone B Cells Unveiled as Key Players in TB Vaccine Strategy

An "unconventional" immune response now identified by scientists from the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) is a potential new pathway for developing new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB), according to a new publication.

16 Jul 2024

3D-Printed Device Transforms Blood Conductivity Measurement with AI Precision

A novel lab-on-a-chip device consisting of a portable millifluidic nanogenerator that can gauge blood conductivity at low frequency.

9 Jul 2024

Pasteurization Effectively Eliminates H5N1 Virus from Milk

In March 2024, dairy cows in Texas were found to be infected with highly pathogenic avian flu, or H5N1 bird flu, in the first known case of the virus spreading to cattle.

4 Jul 2024

Are Advances in AI Technology Transforming Immunohistochemistry Analysis in Pathology?

The platforms and AI-based programs that are being used to analyze immunohistochemical markers and interpret the results.

3 Jul 2024

Scientists Identify Gene Region that Fuels Asthma Inflammation

Pollen and house dust mites are two common allergens that cause respiratory distress in asthma patients. But type-2 helper T (Th2) cells and group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) release a class of proteins known as type-2 cytokines in response to a variety of asthma triggers. GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3) is essential for the maturation of Th2 and ILC2.

25 Jun 2024

Detecting Auto-Antibodies for Early Identification of High-Risk COVID-19 Cases

Researchers recently discovered that auto-antibodies against their type 1 interferons, crucial immunological signaling proteins, were present in some COVID-19 patients.

20 Jun 2024

The Link Between Climate Change and Drug-Resistant Fungal Infections

In a recent study on fungal diseases in Chinese hospitals, researchers discovered that two individuals were infected by a previously undocumented fungus affecting human health.

20 Jun 2024

Novel Lipopeptide from Serratia marcescens Shows Promise Against Staphylococcus aureus Infections

A novel antibacterial lipopeptide produced by the bacterium Serratia marcescens has been shown to be highly effective in killing Staphylococcus aureus – one of the most important pathogens occurring in humans.

7 Jun 2024

Brain Organoids Emerge as Powerful Tool for Drug Discovery in Mitochondrial Disease

The use of brain organoids in screening for drugs against mitochondrial diseases, which have hitherto presented challenges in treatment.

4 Jun 2024

New Trojan Horse Virus Potentially Linked to Severe Toxoplasmosis

An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a new RNA virus that they believe is hitching a ride with a common human parasite.

3 Jun 2024

New Birnavirus Discovered in Pet Trade Zebrafish

Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected laboratory fish, Marlen Rice from the University of Utah, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, publishing May 23rd.

31 May 2024

Integrative genomic study identifies two new potential drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Researchers used existing whole genome sequences of M. tuberculosis and conducted a pangenomic analysis to identify potential drug targets.

28 May 2024

Study Reveals How tRNA Modification Influences Malaria Drug Resistance

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have discovered a link between malaria parasites’ ability to develop resistance to antimalarial drugs – specifically artemisinin (ART) – through a cellular process called transfer Ribonucleic acid (tRNA) modification.

20 May 2024