The absence of a single immune cell receptor has been linked to both fewer defenses against mycobacterial infections, such as TB, and damaging buildup of sticky residue in the lungs.
Luciano Marraffini’s research helped lay the groundwork for the newly FDA-approved CRISPR-based therapy for sickle cell anemia. He reflects on how we got here—and where the science is going next.
With 40% of encephalitis cases now explained by an autoimmune deficiency, West Nile virus "is by far the best understood human infectious disease in the world. It’s stunning.”
A trio of faulty genes fail to put the brakes on the immune system’s all-out assault on SARS-CoV-2, leading to the inflammatory overload characteristic of MIS-C.
Researchers have long disagreed over whether 𝛄𝛅T cells in the gut promote or discourage tumor growth, but new evidence suggests they have the capacity to do both.
The booster appears to galvanize memory B cells into producing potent and versatile antibodies that neutralize both the original virus and its many variants.
The study highlights genes that, when silenced, render Mycobacterium tuberculosis vulnerable to antibiotics, and identifies existing drugs that may be effective against one prominent strain.
The compound attacks MRSA, C. diff, and several other deadly pathogens. Its discovery demonstrates the power of combining computational biology, genetic sequencing, and synthetic chemistry to study bacterial evolution.
A mutated gene may explain why some Staphylococcus aureus infections turn lethal, a finding with significant implications for people living with 5p- syndrome.
Unlike conventional antiretroviral drugs, treatment with broadly neutralizing antibodies does not rely on vigilant daily dosing and could potentially reduce the body’s reservoir of latent viruses.
In studying how bacteria respond to viral infection, scientists are learning that their defense strategies cooperate in ways reminiscent of the elaborate immune systems of animals.
The findings, which may have implications for a wide range of human diseases, suggest that nuclear pore complexes vary in structure and function even within a single nucleus.
Increasingly, hospitalized patients contract infections that evade current antibiotics including colistin, long used as a last treatment option. The discovery of a new colistin variant might make it possible to outmaneuver these pathogens.
Researchers found that the antibodies present in people who have had COVID or taken two doses of mRNA vaccine are inadequate against Omicron. But their protective ability increases significantly after a booster dose.
Scientists have identified hundreds of llama-derived antibodies that potentially could be developed into a COVID treatment. They hope such a drug would be potent against different variants of the coronavirus, including Omicron.
Prior infections appear to shield enteric neurons, preventing these key components of the body's "second brain" from dying off when future pathogens strike.
Human cells can be coaxed into preventing certain enveloped viruses (including HIV, Ebola, and parainfluenza) from escaping their membranes in the lab, a finding that could lead to novel treatments for many viral diseases.
Studying dozens of naturally occurring and laboratory-selected mutations in SARS-CoV-2, researchers found that the virus will need to pull off a genetic feat to become fully resistant to antibodies.
People who recover from COVID-19 may have better protection than those who received a vaccine, but the benefits of natural immunity do not outweigh the very real risk of disability and death from contracting the disease.
Not every gene that's essential in tuberculosis is also vulnerable to attack. A new study ranks essential genes by vulnerability, allowing researchers to better prioritize future drug targets.
Whenever a cell uses CRISPR to defend itself, there's a chance of mutations creeping into its genetic code. Some of these mutations are harmless; others kill the cell. But fortuitous mutations can occasionally render major human pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic resistant.
