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.
Addressing the increased risks of certain diseases among those with Down syndrome could help improve their quality of life.
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Joaquin Espinosa, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
People with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21. Understanding the effects of those triplicated genes could help improve the health of those with Down syndrome and other medical conditions.
Bacteria (clusters of light pink, surrounded by larger magenta blood cells) can cause deadly infections, but overreactive immune responses can deliver the lethal blow.
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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.
Killer T cells (green and red), or cytotoxic T cells, surround a cancer cell (blue, center).
NICHD/J. Lippincott-Schwartz
Gregory Allen, University of California, San Francisco
Immunotherapy has the potential to eliminate tumors, but works best for select patients. Engineering T cells to bypass cancer’s defenses could help expand treatment eligibility to more patients.
The immune system usually stays dormant in the lungs in times of health.
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While a strong immune response is essential to fight against viral infection, an immune system that continues to stay active long after the virus has been cleared can lead to lung damage.
Dendritic cells (green) produce cytokines like IL-12, which can train T cells (pink) to attack tumors.
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Aslan Mansurov, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
One promising cancer treatment has been in the works for decades, but severe side effects have kept it out of the clinic. A reengineered version may offer a way to safely harness its potent effects.
It’s not a bad sign if you feel fine after your COVID-19 shot.
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We blame the coronavirus for the thousands of deaths, but it is actually a hyperactive immune reaction that is the cause of death. An immunologist explains.
A report found that 90% of morbidly obese patients admitted to intensive care needed a ventilator.
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Who is most likely to survive an infection of the new coronavirus? Two immunologists explain that it is those who mount exactly the right immune response – not too weak, not too strong.
Over-activation of the immune system may be behind severe cases of COVID-19.
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Cytokines ensure our immune system responds effectively to pathogens in our bodies. But in some cases, cytokines can cause the immune system to over-react.
Anyone who’s had the flu can attest that it makes them feel horrible. But why? What is going on inside the body that brings such pain and malaise? An immunologist explains.
Researchers at a fertility clinic in Athens appear to have reversed the menopause in a small group of women – but will the science stand up to scrutiny?