Immunology

By mapping a specialized sensory organ that the malaria mosquito uses to zero in on its human prey, an international team of researchers has taken an important step toward developing new and improved repellants and attractants that can be used to reduce the threat of malaria, generally considered the most prevalent life-threatening disease in the world. The sensory organ is the maxillary palp. It is one of three structures extending from the mosquito’s head that together provide it with its sense of smell and taste. The other two are the feathery antennae that serve as general-purpose…

The emerging threat of pesticide resistance means that biological malaria control methods are once again in vogue. New research published in the online open access journal BMC Public Health shows how Nile tilapia, a fish more commonly served up to Kenyan diners, is a valuable weapon against malaria mosquitoes. Annabel Howard and Francois Omlin from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya, introduced Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.), to abandoned fishponds in western Kenya. The study, funded by the Government of Finland, BioVision Foundation (…

Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the most severe forms of human malaria. Invasion of host red blood cells is an essential step of the complex life cycle of this parasite. During the process of invasion, P. falciparum, which appears in the stage of a “merozoite”, is exposed to antibodies from the immune system. Consequently, the proteins of the merozoite that interact with red blood cells are a possible weak point, and thus a very clear target to develop vaccines. Alfred Cortés, an ICREA researcher working at IRB Barcelona and an expert in molecular parasitology, together with…

A method for making instant steam, without the need for electricity, promises to be useful for tackling antibiotic resistant ‘superbugs’ like MRSA and C. difficile, as well as removing chewing gum from pavements and powering environmentally friendly cars. "The value of instant steam lies in creating truly portable steam that can be generated intermittently on demand," says Dave Wardle, business development director at Oxford Catalysts. The company is already in talks with UK specialist steam supplier OspreyDeepclean about possible applications for steam cleaning hospitals, Wardle adds. An as…

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute have proposed a mechanism which explains the precision of prognoses for trinucleotide repeat diseases and say it may lead researchers in the direction of a possible prevention or cure. Based on the literature on some twenty known trinucleotide repeat diseases and their knowledge of the mechanisms governing somatic mutation, the team has proposed a mechanism that explains the precise relations between the patient's age of onset and the number of repeats in the diseased gene in the patient's genome. Using computer simulations and mathematical analysis of…

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) believe that blood may hold vital insights into what is happening in the brain of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). In a study unparalleled in its scope, a team led by UNSW Professor Andrew Lloyd of the Centre for Infection and Inflammation Research, has studied the differences in gene expression patterns in the blood of people who either recover promptly after acute glandular fever or develop the prolonged illness called post-infective syndrome. The researchers examined six million pieces of gene expression information for…

A just-published article in the American Journal of Epidemiology reports a very clear negative correlation between colorectal cancer and omega-3 consumption. It describes the results of a case-control study done in Scotland from 1999 to 2006. The investigators hoped to recruit all cases of colorectal cancer coming for surgery in Scotland; they managed to recruit about half of them and ended up with about 1500 “cases.” Each case was paired with a healthy control matched for age, sex, and residence. Then they compared the diets of the two groups. This is the approach that first linked smoking…

Bats are one of the zoological groups attracting most interest around the world in terms of studying the epidemiology of rabies. However, the dynamics of the viral infection in these organisms remains poorly understood. A team from the UB and the Institut Pasteur in Paris has just reported the first epidemiological, ecological and virological study with previously unpublished data on the transmission and development of rabies in these mammals. The study is the result of twelve years of monitoring the dynamics of rabies virus infection (European bat lyssavirus subtype 1 - EBL1) in two wild…

The genes that make up the immune system of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits deadly viral diseases to humans have been identified in new research out today in Science. The immune system of this mosquito is of great importance as scientists believe it plays a key role in controlling the transmission of viruses that cause yellow and dengue fevers – diseases that infect over 50 million people worldwide every year. This study is the first of its kind on the newly-sequenced genome of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The researchers identified over 350 genes which are involved in the Aedes…

In the first large-scale epidemiological study evaluating elevator-related injuries in children throughout the United States, researchers report that children up to two years of age had the greatest percentage (28.6%) of elevator-related injuries. “What really surprised us was the number of infants with head injuries in our study. As the elevator doors closed mothers may not realize the vulnerability of babies in strollers or in their arms,” said Joseph O’Neil, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and lead author of the study…