Parasites' quirky trick to persuade immune cells to invite them in for dinnerAugust 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from Imperial College London have found that parasite leishmania tricks immune system to let it enter the body and cause skin infection. Leishmaniasis is an infection caused by Leishmania parasites that cause disfiguring and painful skin ulcers, and in severe cases the infection can also spread to the internal organs.
Immune system's natural killer cells linked to infant liver diseaseJuly 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have found that an overactive response by one of the immune system's key weapons against infection - natural killer, or NK, cells - is linked to the onset of biliary atresia in infants, a disease where blocked bile ducts can cause severe liver damage and death. They also found that blocking a gene that helps NK cells attack bile duct tissues lessens damage and may be a way to treat the most common cause of chronically progressive liver disease in children.
Pine bark extract 'helps reduce inflammation'July 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree has been found effective in reducing inflammation, and soothing pain associated with various health problems, claim researchers. According to lead researcher Dr.
HIV-1 destroys immune response in the gut within days of infectionJuly 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have found that HIV-1 virus moves rapidly in the body, and damages the B-cell antibody-producing system in the gut, within days of infection. The study by Centre for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology is the first to examine what happens to B cells in the gut in the earliest stage of HIV-1 infection.
Two structures from old immune system offer hope for treating diseases, infectionJune 18th, 2009 LONDON - Two new structures, belonging to the oldest branch of the human immune system, have revealed how it fights invading microbes while avoiding problems of the body attacking itself. Both structures involve a central component of an enzyme important to the complement system of the immune response.
Scientists find novel way of boosting newborns' immune responsesJune 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Newborns have immature immune system which makes them highly vulnerable to infections. Now, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston claim to have found a novel way to enhance innate immunity that would help keep respiratory syncytial virus, pneumococcus and rotavirus at bay.
Understanding plants' immune system will help researchers build better cropsMay 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of Missouri, US, have identified important suppressors that negatively regulate the responses of the immune system in the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, which would allow breeders to create better yielding crop plants. "The immune system provides plants with strong protection from pathogens," said Walter Gassmann, associate professor of plant sciences in the MU Christopher S.
Scientists unravel how smallpox virus sabotages our immune systemMay 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers are closing in on how smallpox virus go about their deadly business of sabotaging our immune system. These findings may reveal as much about our immune system as they do about one of the world's most feared pathogens.
How smallpox affects human immune systemMay 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from University of Florida have shed light on how small pox affects immune system. The research team have come across a particular interaction between the proteins produced by smallpox virus in concert with human proteins that disables one of the body's first responders to injury - inflammation.
Scientists unravel how smallpox virus sabotages our immune systemMay 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers are closing in on how smallpox virus go about their deadly business of sabotaging our immune system. These findings may reveal as much about our immune system as they do about one of the world's most feared pathogens.
Why do seasonal allergies increase in springMay 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Spring season is often accompanied by allergies and increased problems for asthmatic people. Now, American scientists have identified a previously unknown cellular switch that turns allergies and asthma both on and off.
Freedom from lice may have paved way for modern allergiesApril 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study from University of Nottingham has revealed that louse infestation can dampen mammalian immune reactions. The finding means that the epidemic of allergic disorders in modern, urban people might be due to our having rid ourselves of lice and worms.
Genes from fireflies shed light show causes of infertilityMarch 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Genes from fireflies and jellyfish are virtually shedding light on possible causes of infertility and auto-immune diseases in humans. Auto-immune diseases are those in which something goes wrong with your immune system and it attacks healthy cells and tissues and makes you sick.
Researchers for natural approach to HIV vaccineMarch 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - For the past 25 years, researchers have tried and failed to develop an HIV vaccine, their entire focus being on a small number of engineered 'super antibodies' to fend off the virus before it takes hold. So far, these magic bullet antibodies have proved impossible to produce in people.
Decoding how cell memory helps immune system fend off invasionsJanuary 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Resarchers are close to decoding the mystery of how immune cells fend off infections by remembering and recognising the nature of invading pathogens. Their key finding is that a distinct programme generates memory cells to protect an individual against re-infection.
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