Immunology

Think Mosquitoes Bite You More Than Other People? Here's Why You May Be Right

There are up to 400 chemical compounds on human skin that could play a role in attracting mosquitoes. sookie, CC BY-SA By Cameron Webb, University of Sydney There’s always one in a crowd, a sort of harbinger of the oncoming mosquito onslaught: a person mo ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 25 2015 - 11:40pm

Of The 3 Types Of Potential Malaria Vaccines, 2 Might Be Bad Ideas

By Joel N. Shurkin, Inside Science (Inside Science)- In nature — the rule goes — everything is connected to everything else, so it is possible that when you combine two methods of preventing a deadly disease, bad things can happen. ...

Article - Joel Shurkin - May 25 2015 - 11:04am

5 Important Things To Know About Bird Flu

Bird flu: Livestock and farmers most at risk. Shutterstock By Derek Gatherer, Lancaster University ...

Article - The Conversation - Feb 6 2015 - 4:26pm

Skin Wounds: How Epithelial Cell Sheets Force Them To Close

Skin provides an essential protective barrier against foreign materials and pathogens and helps the body retain various fluids and electrolytes. When that barrier is damaged, the consequences can be devastating. Ulcers, bleeding and bacterial infections ma ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 9 2015 - 10:27am

What Was Sweating Sickness, The Plague Of The Tudors?

Don't look so worried Cromwell, she's just asleep. BBC/Company Productions Ltd By Derek Gatherer, Lecturer at Lancaster University. In the first episode of BBC historical drama Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s novel of the same name, Thomas C ...

Article - The Conversation - Feb 10 2015 - 8:30am

What Does Your Gut Microbiome Have To Do With Your Immune System?

The bacteria living in your gut have more to do with your immune system than you might think. Shutterstock Your intestines are home to many different kinds of bacteria (and some non-bacterial organisms as well). Together they’re called the “gut microbiome ...

Article - The Conversation - Feb 15 2015 - 1:00pm

Added Sex Benefit: It Makes Us Less Prone To Disease Over Time

There are many hypotheses about genetic advantages of sexual reproduction but none have been proven in humans. The researchers of a new study say they have done so, showing how humanity’s predispositions to disease gradually decrease the more we mix our ge ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 16 2015 - 9:49pm

African-Americans May Not Trust Flu Vaccines

A survey asking if people took a flu vaccine revealed some interesting statistics- if their physician specifically recommended it, they were far more likely to have gotten one and vaccination rates among African-Americans was a low 62 percent. 90 percent o ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 23 2015 - 5:05pm

LEAP Study: Eating Peanuts Early Prevents Peanut Allergy In High-Risk Infants

New evidence finds that the majority of infants at high-risk of developing an allergy to peanuts are protected from peanut allergy at age 5 years if they eat peanut frequently starting within the first 11 months of life.  ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 23 2015 - 6:07pm

Bubonic Plague Linked To Climate Change In Asia

Credit: L. Sabetelli / Wellcome, CC BY The Black Death struck Europe in 1347, killing 30-50% of the European population in six violent years. It wasn’t a one-off epidemic: it signaled the start of the second plague pandemic in Europe that lasted for hundr ...

Article - The Conversation - Feb 24 2015 - 11:16am