The Immune System

An innovative new rapid test promises to give people the ability to easily measure their COVID-19 immunity. The test tracks levels of neutralizing antibodies in a drop of blood, helping a person evaluate their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, often returning with a vengeance after it's removed. A newly developed immunity-boosting hydrogel could be injected into the brain after surgery to clear out remaining cancer stem cells.

The immune system’s foreign body response is key for keeping us healthy – but it’s not so useful when that foreign body is a medical implant. A new device prevents scar tissue forming around implants by gently inflating and deflating every 12 hours.

By using advanced screening methods to tune into the communications taking place between individual cells, scientists have produced a full connectivity map of the human immune system, which may help develop new treatments for disease.

A 66-year-old man has become the fourth patient, and the oldest to date, to be effectively cured of a HIV infection after undergoing a stem cell transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that has been linked to HIV resistance.

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication causes more than 250,000 deaths in the US each year, but a new AI system developed at Johns Hopkins University promises to make a real difference in this area, by catching key symptoms early on.

The Omicron subvariant BA.5 is now dominant in the US but scientists are playing catch up trying to understand whether it will lead to more severe disease than prior COVID variants. Two new preprint studies are offering unique insights into BA.5.

A small autopsy study examining brain tissue from deceased COVID-19 patients is offering clues to how this coronavirus can lead to brain damage. The findings suggest an abnormal immune response could be damaging vascular cells in the blood-brain barrier.

New research has found users of nicotine-salt-containing pod and disposable e-cigarettes display unique markers of immune suppression not seen in users of other kinds of e-cigarettes. The study indicates the long-term health implications are unknown.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are beginning a Phase 1 human trial to test a new universal flu vaccine. The trial will test the vaccine being delivered via nasal spray or by injection after animal studies demonstrated strong results.

A new study tracking the health of around two million people has found influenza vaccination is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The study builds on research finding links between viral infections and neurodegenerative disease.

Scientists have developed a new light-activated “photoimmunotherapy” that could help treat brain cancer. The key is a compound that glows under light to guide surgeons to the tumor, while near-infrared light activates a cancer-killing mechanism.