Immunology

Researchers Turn Stem Cells Into Genetic Vaccine For HIV

AIDS researchers have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered into cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells — a process that potentially could be used against a range of chronic viral diseases. The study, publ ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 8 2009 - 4:51pm

Hemagglutinin 'Hook' Could Be H1N1's Unexpected Weakness

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have found an unexpected weakness in H1N1's method for evading detection by the immune system. They say the virus has been keeping a secret that may be the key to defeating it and oth ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 6:58pm

Biology's Catch-22: Immune System Inadvertently Protects HIV

While trying to develop a vaccine for AIDS, researchers have uncovered a biological catch-22 that's been hindering their chances of success. They say that while the immune system can produce cells with the potential to manufacture HIV-blocking antibod ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 15 2009 - 6:14pm

How Smallpox Defeats Our Immune Systems

 Researchers working in a high containment laboratory at the CDC in Atlanta, GA have discovered how the smallpox virus kills. In a study published in the FASEB Journal, the team says that the virus, now eradicated by vaccination, cripples the immune system ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 22 2009 - 7:49pm

Unvaccinated Children Spreading Chickenpox

Children whose parents refuse to vaccinate them are nine times more likely to get chickenpox compared to fully immunized children, according to a new study led by a vaccine research team at Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research.  ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 4 2010 - 5:49pm

Researchers Produce H1N1 Vaccine With Insect Cells

Using insect cells, scientists in Vienna have developed an alternative method for producing the H1N1 vaccine. The researchers say the discovery, detailed in the Biotechnology Journal, will aid the fight against influenza pandemics by speeding up production ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 5 2010 - 3:40pm

Llamas: The Ultimate Counter-Terrorism Weapon

What does it take to stop a deadly bioterrorism attack? A strong military? Secured borders? Good Political leaders? If you chose any of the above, you're wrong. The answer is actually llamas--or their proteins to be exact. According to a new study in ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2010 - 8:59pm

'Green' Vaccine May Help Fight Malaria, Cholera

Malaria and cholera take devastating tolls in the developing world. Mosquito-borne Malaria kills more than 1 million people annually and no vaccine currently exists. Cholera, a diarrheal illness that is common in developing countries, can be fatal and the ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 26 2010 - 7:30pm

Self-Aggrandising Pseudoscience Castigated- Wakefield Struck Off By GMC

Self-Aggrandising Pseudoscience Castigated- Wakefield Struck Off By GMC Following the longest medical misconduct inquiry ever held in the U.K., Andrew Wakefield has been struck off by the GMC, the General Medical Council.  The GMC, an independant charitab ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jan 30 2010 - 8:14pm

Low Levels Of PC Antibodies Linked To Stroke Risk

New research published in Stroke has linked the risk of suffering a stroke to the presence of a certain type of antibody in the immune system. According to the study, researchers may now be able to develop a vaccine that can mobilize the body's own de ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 12 2010 - 12:08pm