People with psoriasis – an often distressing dermatological condition that causes lesions and red scaly patches on the skin – are less likely to react to looks of disgust by others than people without the condition, new research has found. University of Manchester scientists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to compare the brains of 26 men, half of whom had chronic psoriasis....

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed the first mouse model for auto-inflammatory diseases, disorders that involve the over-activation of the body`s innate, primitive immune system. Their study, published early online in Cell Immunity on June 4, suggests that the innate – not adaptive – immune system drives auto-inflammatory diseases...

Australian scientists have made a discovery that may one day remove the need for a lifetime of toxic immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplants. Professor Jonathan Sprent and Dr Kylie Webster from Sydney`s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with colleagues, Dr Shane Grey and Stacey Walters, have successfully tested a method, in experimental mice, of adjusting the immune sy...

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have for the first time identified a molecular pathway that triggers an immune response in multiple mosquito species capable of stopping the development of Plasmodium falciparum—the parasite that causes malaria in humans. By silencing the gene, caspar, the researchers were able to block the development of the malaria-causing ...

The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations – the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen. This new method of vaccination could potentially be used to provide instantaneous protection against diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, cancers, and even virulent toxins. The team, l...

New research reveals how a cancer-associated protein enables tumor cells to evade the immune system by both suppressing antitumor influences and promoting tumor-enhancing conditions, in essence turning the immune system to the dark side of the force. The study is published by Cell Press in the February 3rd issue of the journal Cancer Cell. Continuous activation of the transcription factor Stat3 co...

More than five million people die every year from infectious diseases, despite the availability of numerous antibiotics and vaccines. The discovery of penicillin to treat bacterial infections, along with the development of vaccines for previously incurable virus diseases such as polio and smallpox, achieved great reductions in mortality during the mid-20th century. Recently, spectacular advances i...

A fruit fly`s immune system can tell time, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found, and how hard it punches back against infections depends on whether the fly is snoozing or cruising. The discovery could have implications for human health, too. Working with jerry-rigged, light-bulb-laden shoeboxes to manipulate the flies` daily cycle and with syringes small enough to i...

In the first study of its kind, researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, have developed a multidisciplinary approach involving immunology, genomics and bioinformatics to predict the immunity of a vaccine without exposing individuals to infection. This approach addresses a long-standing challenge in the development of vaccines–that...

A BYU-Harvard-Stanford research team has identified a molecule that is key to mothers’ ability to pass along immunity to intestinal infections to their babies through breast milk. The study highlights an amazing change that takes place in a mother’s body when she begins producing breast milk. For years before her pregnancy, cells that produce antibodies against intestinal infections tr...