immunology – Quanta Magazine

The Brainstem Fine-Tunes Inflammation Throughout the Body

Esther Landhuis — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:47:54 +0000

Last month, researchers discovered cells in the brainstem that regulate inflammation throughout the body. In response to an injury, these nerve cells not only sense inflammatory molecules, but also dial their circulating levels up and down to keep infections from harming healthy tissues. The discovery adds control of the immune system to the brainstem’s core functions — a list that also includes...

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During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus

Annie Melchor — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:03:10 +0000

When you were a child, it seemed like an ingenious plan: Splash hot water on your face and stagger into the kitchen, letting out a moan that could make angels cry. One touch of your flushed forehead would convince your parents to diagnose a fever and keep you home from school. No matter how elaborately planned and performed, these theatrics probably weren’t as persuasive as you had hoped.

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Nobel Prize Awarded to mRNA Vaccine Scientists

Yasemin Saplakoglu — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:53:31 +0000

The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their pioneering work in the development of mRNA vaccine technology, which made possible a timely vaccine response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus are credited with helping to curb the spread of the pandemic and with saving between 14.4...

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How Many Microbes Does It Take to Make You Sick?

Tara C. Smith — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 14:19:23 +0000

For a pathogen to make us sick, it must overcome a lot. First it has to enter the body, bypassing natural barriers such as skin, mucus, cilia and stomach acid. Then it needs to reproduce; some bacteria and parasites can do this virtually anywhere in the body, while viruses and some other pathogens can only do so from within a cell. And all the while, it must parry attacks from the body’s immune...

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What Has the Pandemic Taught Us About Vaccines?

Steven Strogatz — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 08:37:47 +0000

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, scientists raced to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus killing millions around the world. Large segments of the global population, including many people who had not worried much about infectious diseases for decades, were suddenly hanging on the success of those efforts. Vaccines have been around for so long that it’s easy to take them for...

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