The Immune System

When it comes to getting a cold or the flu, there is a commonly held belief that men take it harder than women, exaggerating their symptoms and basically acting like big ol' babies. But is this phenomenon of "man sick" a real thing? We investigate.

T cells are our first line of defense against cancer, but the battle tends to exhaust them. Now, scientists have found a way to give them extra “batteries” to keep them fighting longer, with promising early results in mice.

Injecting immune cells directly into damaged bone, muscle and skin significantly boosts healing, according to new research. The door is now open to developing a universal cell-based method of enhancing healing after an injury.

Scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatment options for celiac patients. The team identified how and where the gluten response begins, with certain cells playing a bigger role than thought.

For the first time, scientists have successfully created a mouse with a 100% functional human immune system and microbiome. This 'humanized' mouse takes the guesswork out of research and may revolutionize how we test new drugs and understand diseases.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has green-lit the fast-tracking of an innovative personalized treatment for advanced prostate cancer following a promising clinical trial where the cancer disappeared completely in almost 40% of participants.

Measles is on the rise, attributable to the anti-vaccination movement and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have identified a new way of tackling one of the most contagious viruses around, offering protection for those at greatest risk.

A group of volunteers in the UK let scientists put the SARS-CoV-2 virus up their noses for research investigating why some of us naturally avoid getting COVID-19. This first-of-its-kind study opens the door to better vaccines and treatments.

A new study has overturned traditional thinking about regulatory T cells, which suppress the body’s inflammatory response, and has significant implications for treating a wide range of conditions, from repairing injured muscles to regrowing hair.

Fasting for 24 hours twice a week boosts the cancer-fighting abilities of specific immune cells called natural killer cells, according to a new study. The findings open up a number of options for supplementing cancer treatment in the future.

Scientists at Harvard have developed a promising new treatment to reverse hair loss associated with alopecia. Painless microneedle patches loaded with an immune regulating drug regrew hair in mice with alopecia within a few weeks.

For the first time, a major trigger in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related conditions has been identified, and existing drugs are capable of blocking it. It's a "massive step" in successfully treating these debilitating lifelong conditions.