A study shows that antiviral proteins called type I interferons (IFNs) are needed to fend off infection with an exotic mosquito-borne virus called Chikungunya virus. This pathogen, which causes high fevers and severe joint pain, triggered a recent epidemic in Southeast Asia, infecting more than 30 percent of the population in some areas.
Scientists have identified a protein made by the malaria parasite that is essential to its ability to take over human red blood cells.
Researchers examined the effects of HIV infection and being raised in institutions on the development of 58 infected and uninfected Ukrainian 4-year-olds. Some of the children lived in institutions from shortly after birth while others lived with their biological families. Results show that the quality of the relationships between the children and their caregivers had a bigger impact on children’s physical growth and cognitive performance than the presence of the HIV infection.
Poll shows almost half of Americans believe H1N1 flu outbreak is over and levels of concern about getting sick continue to decline. After initial period of vaccine shortage, 70 percent of adults said there is now enough vaccine in their community for everyone who wants it. More than half of parents either got the vaccine for their children or intend to. Many adults said they have not gotten the vaccine and do not intend to.
The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well. Scientists conducted the comparison as a test of the potential for treating disease in developing nations with the significantly less expensive plant-based production technique.
Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter lifespans. “Prehistoric remains are providing strong, physical evidence that people who acquired tooth enamel defects while in the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if they survived to adulthood,” says anthropologist George Armelagos, who recently published the first summary of prehistoric evidence for the Barker hypothesis.
New video footage of a virus infecting cells is challenging what researchers have long believed about how viruses spread, suggesting that scientists may be able to create new drugs to tackle some viruses.
New research may help more smokers keep their New Year’s resolution by helping them quit smoking. Extended use of a nicotine patch — 24 weeks versus the standard eight weeks recommended by manufacturers — boosts the number of smokers who maintain their cigarette abstinence and helps more of those who backslide into the habit while wearing the patch, according to a new study.
Researchers have synthesized the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant women and their unborn children. The protein known as VAR2CSA enables malaria parasites to accumulate in the placenta and can therefore potentially be used as the main component in a vaccine to trigger antibodies that protect pregnant women against malaria. The research team is now planning to test the efficacy of the protein-based vaccine on humans.
Bacteria that infect chronic wounds can be deadly to maggot “bio-surgeons” used to treat the lesions, show researchers. The findings could lead to more effective treatment of wounds and the development of novel antibiotics.
High-coverage human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among adolescents and young women may result in a rapid reduction of genital warts, cervical cell abnormalities, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, researchers report in a new study. Some of these genital abnormalities are precursors of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers.
Groundbreaking research could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria. Scientists have scored a world first in successfully using transcriptional profiling to uncover hitherto unknown gene expression (activity) patterns in malaria.
A new vaccine to prevent the deadly malaria infection has shown promise to protect the most vulnerable patients — young children — against the disease, according to an international team of researchers. The vaccine seems to replicate in children the natural protective immunity that adults develop after years of intense exposure to malaria. A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds, according to the WHO.
For the first time, scientists have directly measured the energy associated with the expulsion of viral DNA, a pivotal discovery toward fully understanding the physical mechanisms that control viral infection and designing drugs to interfere with the process.
A new study conducted in a multi-country HIV treatment program in sub-Saharan Africa has found that pregnancy rates increase in HIV-infected women after they start antiretroviral therapy.
The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis may be better understood using mathematical models, according to a new article.
Researchers have shown for the first time that certain viruses are capable of forming complex biofilm-like assemblies, similar to bacterial biofilms. These extracellular infectious structures may protect viruses from the immune system and enable them to spread efficiently from cell to cell. “Viral biofilms” would appear to be a major mechanism of propagation for certain viruses. They are therefore emerging as new and particularly attractive therapeutic targets.
Researchers have developed a “smart coating” that helps surgical implants bond more closely with bone and ward off infection.
Researchers have determined where an antiviral drug binds to and blocks a channel necessary for the flu virus to spread. The team also discovered that the drug spins in the channel, meaning there could be room for developing drugs that do a better job blocking the channel and stopping the flu.
A team of scientists has identified two compounds that act on novel binding sites for an enzyme used by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. The discovery lays the foundation for the development of a new class of anti-HIV drugs to enhance existing therapies, treat drug-resistant strains of the disease, and slow the evolution of drug resistance in the virus.
New research has not reproduced previous findings that suggested chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to a recently discovered virus. The authors of the study say this means that anti-retroviral drugs may not be an effective treatment for people with the illness.
Researchers have unlocked some of the secrets of a viral protein, known as Rev, which plays an essential role in the propagation mechanism of certain types of viruses within an organism.
Music therapy can assist in the speech acquisition process in toddlers who have undergone cochlear implantation, as revealed in a new study.
Neisseria meningitidis, the meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause diseases with high fatality rates, and there has therefore been considerable concern that, like other bacteria, it might become resistant to antibiotics. But now a study shows that there has not been any increase in resistant meningococci in Sweden over the last 15 years. The reason for this may be that it is not especially advantageous for bacteria to develop resistance.
A new study finds that postmenopausal HIV-infected women have a high prevalence of low bone mineral density and high bone turnover, placing them at high risk for future bone fractures.
