antibodies

Researchers are suggesting antibodies produced by the immune system response to SARS-CoV-2 decline in the months following initial infection. Testing hundreds of thousands of subjects over three months, the study raises questions over long-term immunity.

In a recent video message Donald Trump attributed his rapid COVID-19 recovery to a new experimental therapy he called ‘Regeneron’ and subsequently referred to it as a “cure”. What do we know about this new experimental drug? Is it safe? And what does it actually do?

Novel research has described the discovery of opioid antibodies produced by the immune system following chronic opioid use. The researchers suggest these antibodies may be responsible for some negative side effects seen in long-term opioid users.

Scientists have designed a novel antibody that can accurately detect the toxic protein oligomers suspected to cause the degeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The breakthrough hopes to lead to improved drug design and clinical testing.

As researchers rekindle a more than 100-year-old therapy, using blood from recovered COVID-19 subjects as a treatment for newly infected patients, a team in New York is thrusting this old, experimental treatment into the 21st century.

A new study has described the discovery of a novel protein that may be associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The discovery points to the possibility of a future antibody treatment for a variety of mental health disorders.

The body protects itself from invading viruses and bacteria using antibodies, but when a new threat emerges it takes time for the body to produce new ones. A new system from Berkeley Lab should speed up the discovery of new artificial antibodies.

A collaboration between physicists and immunologists has provided new insights into ways to optimize the efficacy of oral vaccines. The research is working towards an oral hepatitis B vaccine that is safer, cheaper and more easily administered than the current injectable alternative.

The first step in many cancer treatments is to surgically remove the tumor, however this often isn’t enough. As long as a few cancer cells remain the tumors often grow back, but a new innovative spray gel, administered onto a cancerous site during surgery, may help prevent the tumors recurring.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who tapped into evolution to produce vital chemicals. It was awarded to Frances H. Arnold for directing the evolution of enzymes, and to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter, who manipulated phages to create new antibodies.

Mostly known for its lustrous fleece and predilection for vigorous spitting, the humble alpaca may soon be more famous for its novel immune system. A study has discovered that the animals produce a unique nanobody that could be recruited into a new treatment for cancer.

HIV is a life sentence, but it can be managed through antiretroviral therapy. New clinical trials in humans have shown that drugs based on two antibodies naturally found in some people can put HIV into hiding for months at a time.