Immunology

Sepsis is an inflammatory response to infection that's known to develop in hospital settings and can turn deadly when it's not discovered early on. In a new study, a hospital surveillance program focusing on reducing the risks of sepsis, known a ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 21 2015 - 2:06pm

Persister Cell- How Bacterial Proteins Promote Antibiotic Resistance

Scientists call them toxins but these bacterial proteins don't poison us, at least not directly. Instead, they restrain the growth of the bacteria that make them, establishing a dormant "persister cell" state that is tolerant to antibiotics ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 29 2015 - 4:12pm

Would We Be Ready For A New Pandemic?

In 2014, one person confirmed with Ebola set off a panic in the United States. Though 28,000 people died of heart disease while media attention focused on that outbreak, and anti-vaccine parents on the West Coast were suddenly prepared to spend any amount ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Oct 28 2015 - 11:42am

The US Must Help South America Combat Chagas Disease

Chagas disease, the third most common parasitic infection in the world, affects approximately 7.5 million people, mostly in Latin America. To help reduce outbreaks of this disease in their countries, the United States and Mexican governments should implem ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 6 2015 - 7:30am

Why The Netherlands HIV Epidemic Among Gay Men Doesn't Subside

The HIV epidemic among gay men in the Netherlands isn't going to decline as long as large, persistent, self-sustaining, and, in many cases, growing sub-epidemics shifting towards new generations of gay men, according to a new paper in PLOS Medicine b ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 4 2015 - 12:00pm

Breast Milk Might Not Protect Babies From Allergies Or Asthma Or Anything Else

Pregnant women and new mothers are inundated with messages regarding the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for babies in the first year of life and if you don't do that, shame on you for giving your child asthma, food allergies and eczema. ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 5 2015 - 8:57am

Asymptomatic People Transmit Dengue Virus To Mosquitoes

Scientists have found that people infected by the dengue virus but showing no clinical symptoms can actually infect mosquitoes that bite them. It appears that these asymptomatic people- who, together with mildly symptomatic patients, represent three-quart ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 16 2015 - 7:12am

Analyzing T-cells Helps With Diagnosis Before Disease Breaks Out

Many patients with serious diseases are not helped by their medications because treatment is started too late. An international research team led from Linköping University is launching a unique strategy for discovering a disease progression in its earlies ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 11 2015 - 6:16pm

Jumping Gene Mystery: Grabbing A Parasite By The Tail

Deep within your DNA, a tiny parasite called a LINE-1 retrotransposon lurks, waiting to pounce from its perch and land in the middle of an unsuspecting healthy gene. If it succeeds, it can make you sick. Like a jungle cat, this parasite sports a long tail ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 12 2015 - 2:16pm

Why Parasite Makes TB Infections Worse

Scientists have shown how a parasitic worm infection common in the developing world increases susceptibility to tuberculosis. The study demonstrated that treating the parasite reduces lung damage seen in mice that also are infected with tuberculosis, ther ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 16 2015 - 6:40pm