Immunology

The latest outbreak of Ebola virus disease that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa and poses a serious, ongoing threat to that region: the spread to capital cities and Nigeria —Africa's most populous nation — presents challenges for health care professionals.  The situation has garnered significant attention and fear around the world, but proven public health measures and sharpened clinical vigilance will contain the epidemic and thwart a global spread, according to a new commentary by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious…

A modified version of the Clostridium novyi (C. noyvi-NT) bacterium can produce a strong and precisely targeted anti-tumor response in rats, dogs and now humans, according to a new report from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers. In its natural form, C. novyi is found in the soil and, in certain cases, can cause tissue-damaging infection in cattle, sheep and humans. The microbe thrives only in oxygen-poor environments, which makes it a targeted means of destroying oxygen-starved cells in tumors that are difficult to treat with chemotherapy and radiation. The Johns Hopkins team…

Bacteria in the gut help the body to digest food, and stimulate the immune system. A PhD project at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, examines whether modulations of the gut bacterial composition affect intestinal integrity, i.e. the ability of the body to maintain a well-regulated barrier function that hinders bacteria from entering the body unintentionally. The human gut contains more than 100 trillion bacteria, which help the body digest food, produce vitamins protect against disease-provoking bacteria in food, and stimulate the immune system. All these bacteria…

Effective new drugs and screening would make hepatitis C a rare disease by 2036, according to a new computer simulation conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.  Hepatitis C, a virus transmitted through the blood, is spread by sharing of needles, the use of contaminated medical equipment, and by tattoo and piercing equipment that has not been fully sterilized. Those at the highest risk for exposure are baby boomers – people born between 1946 and 1965. Widespread screening of the U.S. blood supply for…

Researchers have discovered an enzyme that regulates production of the toxins that contribute to potentially life-threatening Staphylococcus aureus infections.  The enzym is fatty acid kinase (FAK) and FAK is formed by the proteins FakA and FakB1 or FakB2. The new study demonstrated how FakA and FakB work together to replace fatty acids in the bacterial membrane with fatty acids from the person infected.  Fatty acids are a key component of the phospholipids that make up a significant part of the bacterial membrane. Bacteria produce their own fatty acids, but some, including…

Muslim clerics get a bad rap in an interconnected world. It was once possible to be anti-women, anti-medicine and anti-science without much notice - just control the media - but today that is a difficult task. In some parts of the world, imams, Islamic school teachers and traditional rulers are making a positive difference and pushing back the vestiges of conspiracy theories about medicine. In defiance of past teaching, they are working with doctors, journalists and polio survivors to turn the tide against polio vaccine rejection in northern Nigeria.  Sani-Gwarzo Nasir from the…

Parasite is colloquially a bad word but about half of all known species are parasites and biologists have long hypothesized that the strategy of leeching off other organisms is a major driver of biodiversity.  Perhaps being called a parasite is a negative but in the evolution of life on Earth, being one is a winner. Studying populations of Galápagos hawks (Buteo galapagoensis) and feather lice that live in their plumage (Degeeriella regalis), a group led by University of Arizona ecologists and evolutionary biologists has gathered some of the first field evidence suggesting that a…

Folate is a naturally occurring form of vitamin B found in food, while folic acid is synthetically produced and used in fortified foods and supplements. Taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy is linked to a reduction in the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida. The current recommended dose is 400 ìg (micrograms) a day though it is unclear how much daily folic acid is needed to prevent neural tube defects. A previous study carried out in Ireland showed the risk of a having a child with a neural tube defect increased as red blood cell folate concentrations decreased,…

In Australia, annual barley production is second only to wheat, with 7-8 million tons grown per year. Powdery mildew is one of the most important diseases of barley and a new project has opened the way for the development of new lines of barley with resistance to powdery mildew. University of Adelaide Senior Research Scientist Dr. Alan Little and colleagues have discovered the composition of special growths on the cell walls of barley plants that block the penetration of the fungus into the leaf. "Powdery mildew is a significant problem wherever barley is grown around the world," says Dr.…

The rapid rise in valley fever cases in the arid southwest has become a serious health concern, as human habitation has pushed further into desert areas where the soil spores are widespread. Currently, Valley Fever affects an estimated 150,000 people a year, with most cases occurring in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The disease has no cure at present and is tricky to diagnose because it is similar to community-acquired pneumonias. Currently, diagnosis is carried out through a technique known as immunodiffusion, which tests the blood for antibodies against Coccidioidal…