public health, disease & medicine, immunology

Researchers continue to debate whether US President Abraham Lincoln was coming down with smallpox as he delivered his famous Gettysburg Address, and if he had been immunized.

A review of hundreds of cases finds that only a minority of patients noted being sick with a coronavirus infection prior to developing the severe inflammatory condition.

Studies from serum samples could transform our understanding of the spread of COVID-19, but what antibodies alone say about immunity is not yet clear.

Recent work in humans and mice highlights how exposure to environmental microbes helps protect against allergies and other inflammatory diseases.

Two studies present biological evidence that measles infections in unvaccinated children wipe out immune memories of other pathogens, putting the kids at risk of other deadly diseases.

The 2019 Lasker medical and research awards celebrate advances in scientists’ understanding of T and B cells, Herceptin antibodies for treating breast cancer, and vaccine coverage around the globe.

The Johns Hopkins University researcher’s work helped solidify the link between human papillomavirus and cervical cancer, leading to the approval of the HPV vaccine in 2006.

Vaccination reduced the risk of death by two-thirds for children with no other health problems.