Researchers developed a new mouse model that replicates long COVID-19 more accurately than current models. Their findings could lead to new treatments.
Asthma attacks can result from immune cells overreacting to a harmless allergen. Tamping down iron levels in certain immune cells can help control their activity.
Your immune system is often able to fend off pathogens it’s never seen before. But defending your body against all of them all at once is a tough challenge.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the promise of using mRNA as medicine. But before mRNA drugs can go beyond vaccines, researchers need to identify the right diseases to treat.
Viruses can get into cells in several ways. Figuring out how to stop them from entering in the first place is a key to developing better vaccines and stopping future pandemics.
Dietary supplements claim to be able to ‘boost your immune system’ to combat disease. But attaining immune balance through a healthy lifestyle and vaccination is a safer bet to keep in good health.
Itch-sensing neurons in your skin are intertwined with your immune cells. Counterintuitively, the molecule that connects them triggers responses that both worsen and improve skin conditions.
The human body has been making antivirals for eons, long before scientists did. A protein in your cells called viperin produces molecules that work similarly to the COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir.
The heat and chills that come with fever are not only uncomfortable but also metabolically costly. Increased body temperature, however, can make all the difference when you’re sick.
How are people with long COVID faring two years after their initial infection? Many have recovered. Some still struggle with symptoms – this is more likely for those who were initially hospitalised.
T cells recognize and kill cancer cells but quickly lose their effectiveness. This fast dysfunction may help explain why immunotherapy doesn’t lead to long-term remission for many patients.
Cancer vaccines are an emerging personalised treatment for cancer. Using the same mRNA technology as COVID vaccines, they stimulate the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
An overactive immune response to infection can be deadly. Studying how one key player called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, induces lethal immune responses could provide new treatment targets.