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Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs
Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs

Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.

Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.

infectious disease

A close up of a tick held in a pair of forceps, with Kevin Esvelt’s face out of focus in the background.
CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Mar 15, 2024 | 10+ min read
Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.
A Signal for T Cells to Remember
Patience Asanga | Feb 22, 2024 | 3 min read
Timely modulation of a common signaling pathway can preserve influenza memory in lung T cells.
An automated sampler that is collecting a sample from a sewer line.
Tracking Community Health Through Wastewater Surveillance
Charlene Lancaster, PhD | 8 min read
By monitoring disease biomarkers within wastewater, researchers gain insight into disease prevalence within communities.
An illustration of a small number of virus particles on a blurred background.
A New Piece in the HIV Replication Puzzle
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Feb 14, 2024 | 4 min read
A host lipid-modifying enzyme plays a key role in HIV envelope formation, viral maturation, and infectivity. 
Orange rod-shaped bacteria over a red and purple background.
Macrophages Curtail Tuberculosis
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Nov 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Two autophagy genes work together to stop Mycobacterium tuberculosis dead in its tracks.
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
The Scientist Staff | 2 min read
Learn how the latest research into viral and bacterial pathogens advances the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. 
Illustration showing how this new novel nanotechnology simultaneously ‘fishes’ for multiple viruses or viral variants using different DNA nanobait that are designed to target specific viral sequences.
Fishing for Viruses With DNA Nanobait
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Sep 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Scientists developed a novel nanotechnology that simultaneously detects multiple viruses from patient samples in less than an hour.
The figure shows two waves made of DNA double helixes representing gene expression changes in the malaria parasite and its human host. These changes reveal a synchronization between parasite and host.
Malaria Parasites Sync with Hosts’ Molecular Rhythms
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Sep 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Evidence of malaria parasites aligning with their human hosts may pave the way for new antimalarial agents.
Leveraging Stem Cells to Create Better Disease Models
Leveraging Stem Cells to Create Better Disease Models
The Scientist | 2 min read
Clive Svendsen, Meritxell Huch, Ameen Salahudeen, and Maksim Plikus will discuss the latest advances in using patient-derived stem cells to create more accurate disease models.
Vet giving vaccines to pigs
Antimicrobial Resistance: The Silent Pandemic
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Jun 30, 2023 | 9 min read
Scientists continue to ring alarm bells about the risks associated with the continued misuse of antimicrobials and advocate for innovative treatments, improved surveillance, and greater public health education.
Fluorescent images of red cells showing high and low levels of infection in green
Parasite Drove Natural Selection in Amazonian Indigenous Groups
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 13, 2023 | 4 min read
The findings could help researchers understand why some individuals are more vulnerable to deadly Chagas disease.
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
The Scientist | 2 min read
Scientists prepare for the future by filling in the research gaps between zoonotic viral reservoirs, emerging viruses, and human immune defenses.
A fruit bat in the hands of a researcher
How an Early Warning Radar Could Prevent Future Pandemics
Amos Zeeberg, Undark | Feb 27, 2023 | 8 min read
Metagenomic sequencing can help detect unknown pathogens, but its widespread use faces challenges.
A cluster of spiral-shaped Treponema pallidum bacteria, the causative agent of syphilis.
Science Falls Behind as Syphilis Stages Another Comeback
Bhargavi Duvvuri, Undark | Feb 21, 2023 | 6 min read
Syphilis is among the oldest known sexually-transmitted infections. Scientists still struggle to detect and treat it.
3D medical illustration of peripheral blood cells: a lymphocyte (left) and a monocyte (right) surrounded by red blood cells.
PBMCs: Mononucleated and Multipurposed
Deanna MacNeil, PhD | 4 min read
Researchers employ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in clinical and academic applications related to the immune system and regenerative medicine.
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.
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.
VAI
Exposed: Environmental Echoes in Health - A Special Podcast Series
The Scientist and Van Andel Institute | 2 min read
Epigenetic experts discuss how environment and diet leave lasting impressions on the human genome.
a newly hatched mosquito sits on top of water, with its discarded cocoon floating below
In Vitro Malaria Sporozoite Production May Lead to Cheaper Vaccines
Katherine Irving | Jan 20, 2023 | 4 min read
A method for culturing the infectious stage of the Plasmodium lifecycle could increase malaria vaccine production efficiency by tenfold, study authors say.
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