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neuron surrounded by immune cells
Meningitis Bacteria Trigger Headaches, Then Sneak Into the Brain
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 6, 2023 | 3 min read
Researchers find that bacteria stimulate a headache-causing pain pathway to suppress the immune system and infect the brain. 
Illustration of woman looking at floating cells through a telescope
Opinion: New Diabetes Drug Signals Shift to Preventing Autoimmunity
Jane Buckner, MD and Carla Greenbaum, MD | Mar 1, 2023 | 4 min read
A therapy for type 1 diabetes is the first to treat patients before symptoms appear, paving the way toward preventing this and other autoimmune diseases.
TSS
Immune Cells and ALS: A Balance Between Life and Death
The Scientist’s Creative Services Team | 1 min read
Understanding the role of immune cells in neurodegeneration may help scientists develop new diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment tools.
Dead shark on concrete
Researchers Make Alternatives to Shark-Sourced Vaccine Ingredient
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Feb 22, 2023 | 3 min read
Synthetic variations of squalene, which is used to boost immune responses, could make vaccines more effective while reducing fisheries for struggling sharks.
An artistic rendering of SARS-CoV-2 made to look like stained glass
SARS-CoV-2 Infection Can Alter Future Immune Reponses
Niki Spahich, PhD | Feb 22, 2023 | 3 min read
Males recovered from mild COVID-19 have baseline immune states primed to mount stronger responses to future challenges.
How Gut Microbiomes Shape Anti-Tumor Immune Responses
How Gut Microbiomes Shape Anti-Tumor Immune Responses
The Scientist’s Creative Services Team | 1 min read
In this webinar, Andrew Y. Koh will discuss the role of the gut microbiome in modulating cancer immunotherapy. 
RSV vaccine design concept art
RSV Vaccines That Work?
Rachael Moeller Gorman | Feb 16, 2023 | 10+ min read
Multiple candidates are in Phase 3 clinical trials for older adults and pregnant women, with some getting close to approval in the United States.
Red T cell
Jumping Genes Put a Target on Cancerous Cells
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Feb 14, 2023 | 4 min read
Two studies find that tumor-specific antigens are often peptides that result from a splicing event between exons and transposable elements.
Human brain stock photo
New Insight into Brain Inflammation Inspires New Hope for Epilepsy Treatment 
Deanna MacNeil, PhD | 3 min read
Clinicians and researchers teamed up to investigate how inappropriate proinflammatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of drug-refractory epilepsy.
Fluorescence image in purple and green of lymph node
Targeting Antigen “Sanctuary” in Lymph Nodes Could Make Vaccines Better
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Feb 10, 2023 | 3 min read
Researchers find that small sacks inside lymph nodes contain low proteolytic activity and act as safe havens for antigens.
Artist’s rendering of various orange and pink colored bacteria
Q&A: What if Immune Cells Don’t Actually Detect Viruses and Bacteria?
Dan Robitzski | Feb 3, 2023 | 10+ min read
The Scientist spoke with Jonathan Kagan about his idea that immune cells respond to “errors” made by unsuccessful pathogens, not the pathogens themselves.
Neoantigen Prediction for Precision Immunotherapies
Neoantigen Prediction for Precision Immunotherapies 
The Scientist’s Creative Services Team | 2 min read
Learn about the tools and resources researchers use to define, discover, and deploy anti-tumor immunotherapies.
Closeup of a pair of hands in blue gloves holding a white mouse and injecting it with an amber colored liquid.
Opioids Recruit the Immune System to Cause Withdrawal Symptoms
Dan Robitzski | Jan 25, 2023 | 6 min read
A study finds that T cells induced by heroin cross the blood-brain barrier to wreak havoc on the brain, hinting at new ways to prevent withdrawal.
three black mice lined up next to each other. the one on the left, fed a low-fat diet, has one small bald patch, the middle mouse, fed fish oil, has a large bald spot across its shoulders and back, and the right mouse, fed cocoa butter, has no baldness.
Fish Oil in Diet Can Cause Hair Loss in Mice, Study Finds
Katherine Irving | Jan 19, 2023 | 3 min read
The oil’s omega-3 fatty acids accumulate in the mice’s skin, triggering an immune response that causes hair loss.
Training the Immune System to Fight Chronic Diseases
Training the Immune System to Fight Chronic Diseases
The Scientist’s Creative Services Team | 1 min read
Learn how researchers analyze and engineer antibodies to better understand antibody function and development for disease therapeutics.
An artist’s rendering of a DNA-based virus trap, represented as gray rods in a short cone-shaped arrangement. One is coated with blue molecules, likely antibodies, that adhere to a virus target. Another image shows to traps coming together to capture a red coronavirus.
“Origami” DNA Traps Could Keep Large Viruses From Infecting Cells
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jan 18, 2023 | 4 min read
By engineering structures out of DNA, scientists could potentially prevent larger viruses, like coronaviruses and influenza viruses, from interacting with cells.
Rendered image of <em>Chlamydia</em>
How Chlamydia Guards Itself Against the Immune System
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jan 2, 2023 | 4 min read
The bacterium produces a particular protein that allows it to sneak past the human immune system even while triggering inflammation.
Patient-derived colon organoids from a healthy individual
Generating Mini-Guts for Drug Screening
The Scientist’s Creative Services Team and MilliporeSigma | 4 min read
Human gut organoids facilitate precise disease modeling and power high-throughput drug development efforts.
<em>Chlamydia</em> invades a host cell, forms a membrane-bound vacuole, or inclusion, and then modifies the protein composition of the structure&rsquo;s membrane. If immune cells detect <em>Chlamydia</em> before it forms the inclusion, they trigger T cells to produce interferon-&gamma; (IFN-&gamma;), a powerful cytokine. IFN-&gamma; activates the protein mysterin (also called RFN213), which attaches ubiquitin to the inclusion membrane, signaling the cell to destroy the inclusion&rsquo;s contents by dumping them into a lysosome (left). C. trachomatis produces GarD, a protein that integrates into the inclusion membrane itself and somehow prevents mysterin from attaching ubiquitin, allowing the bacterium to evade immune destruction while continuing to multiply and eventually bursting from the cell (right).
Infographic: How Chlamydia Evades Immune Detection
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jan 2, 2023 | 2 min read
Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes chlamydia, hides from the immune system by cloaking itself in the host cell’s membrane then modifying the membrane’s protein composition.
illustration of T cell attached to protein
“Smarter” CAR T Cells Target Tumors with Precision
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Dec 16, 2022 | 5 min read
Two studies in mice now show that researchers can control when and where CAR T cells are active, potentially overcoming previous hurdles for CAR T–based treatments.
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