Immunology

HIV-Positive Patient Cured by Adult Stem Cell Transplant

Writing in Blood, a group says that a 2007 adult stem cell transplant cured a patient of both his HIV and his leukemia.   Up to 33 million people worldwide have HIV/AIDS. How did it work and what does it mean?  It was a perfect storm of good fortune for th ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Dec 15 2010 - 2:48pm

Primate Immune System Differences: Why Are Humans More Susceptible To Some Viruses?

Humans have greater susceptibility than other primates to certain infectious diseases which could be explained by species-specific changes in immune signaling pathways, a University of Chicago study finds. The first genome-wide, functional comparison of ge ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 21 2010 - 11:22am

Genetically Modified 'Superchicken' Doesn't Spread Bird Flu

Avian influenza, bird flu, causes the unnecessary deaths of millions of chickens each year, preventing them from instead being killed for my dinner. Luckily, science is on the case, though irrational left-wing anti-science types won't like the solutio ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jan 14 2011 - 4:29pm

Antibiotics 2020- Turning Bacteria Against Themselves

Bacteria attack with toxins designed to hijack or kill host cells but they have ways of protecting themselves from their own toxins.   Researchers have described one of these protective mechanisms, potentially paving the way for new classes of antibiotics ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 8 2011 - 7:00pm

Henry VIII And Miscarriages; Was It The Kell Antigen?

Henry VIII, King of England and founder of the Anglican Church, was basically the Brad Pitt of his day when he was younger.   Charming, attractive and even kind, for a member of the Royal family. Yet he is most remembered for being gluttonous, impaired and ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 3 2011 - 6:08pm

Endocarditis And Streptococcus Mutans

Endocarditis is a dangerous and sometimes lethal infection of the heart sometimes caused after a dental procedure.     ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 27 2011 - 4:27pm

Australia's Deadly Hendra Virus (HeV) Desperately Needs More Research

Right now on the east coast of Australia where I live, we have an outbreak of the deadly Hendra Virus (HeV) which kills horses and humans and even infects dogs and I have to admit that I’m scared, especially as I own 3 horses and 3 dogs. Over the last mont ...

Blog Post - Helen Barratt - Aug 5 2011 - 3:24am

Nut Allergies In Kids- People Think It's Made Up

In many cases, you can determine a child's age by what affliction their helicopter parents have saddled them with and you don't even have to meet the kid.  If they are ADHD, for example, they are likely close to graduating high school.  If you l ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 15 2011 - 5:00pm

Adermatoglyphia- No Fingerprints 'Disease' Linked To SMARCAD1 Gene

Some people have no fingerprints.  That might be handy in a burglary but it can be an issue when passing through immigration or in security situations where a fingerprint is required, like getting a notary public to take your five bucks for some benign do ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2011 - 9:57am

The Rise Of Mutant Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that causes  urethritis and pelvic inflammatory disease.  Before AIDS, this was what you got for  having promiscuous, unprotected sex with many anonymous partners in a consequence-free environment (a perio ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Sep 19 2011 - 1:42pm