Lab-grown blood stem cells could be used for transplants
09 September, 2024Researchers have overcome a major hurdle for producing blood stem cells — which can create red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets — that closely match those in the human embryo.
Are immune cells focused on the wrong part of the flu vaccine?
03 September, 2024Scientists say they have discovered why the flu vaccine can perform poorly, having found that a specific type of immune cell indirectly controls the anti-influenza response.
How social drinking boosts euphoria
23 August, 2024Grab a drink with friends at happy hour and you're likely to feel chatty, friendly and upbeat, but grab a drink alone and you may experience feelings of depression.
Neuropeptides found to encode danger in the brain
15 August, 2024The process of translating pain into a 'threat memory' occurs so quickly that scientists originally thought it must be mediated by fast-acting neurotransmitters, but it turns out this is not the case.
Brain pathway found for placebo pain relief
13 August, 2024The pain control pathway is crucial to placebo analgesia — where the expectation of pain relief leads to pain alleviation without therapeutic intervention.
Potent immune cells found in the vicinity of glioblastomas
12 August, 2024Highly potent immune cells gather in regional bone marrow niches close to the glioblastoma tumour and organise the defence from there.
Autoantibodies cause lifelong susceptibility to viral infections
09 August, 2024About 2% of the population develop autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, mostly later in life, which makes individuals more susceptible to viral diseases like COVID-19.
Locating the origins of creativity in the brain
06 August, 2024Researchers have used a precise method of brain imaging to unveil how different parts of the brain work together in order to produce creative thought.
Respiratory bacteria can 'turn off' the immune system
02 August, 2024A common bacterium is able to cause persistent respiratory illness via the unique ability to 'talk to' and deactivate the immune system, convincing it there is no threat.
SARS-CoV-2 can infect even more lung cells than we thought
31 July, 2024US and Australian scientists have reported that more lung cell types can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, including those without known viral receptors.
Preclinical trials point towards a future HIV vaccine
22 July, 2024Scientists are potentially closer to an HIV immunisation regimen than ever before — one that could produce rare antibodies that would be effective against a wide range of HIV strains.
Hepatitis C leaves scars in immune cells, even after treatment
19 July, 2024Researchers have discovered that traces of 'epigenetic scars' remain in regulatory T cells and exhibit sustained inflammatory properties long after the virus is cleared from the body.
Impaired gene linked to obesity, postnatal depression
18 July, 2024Scientists have identified a gene which, when missing or impaired, can cause obesity, behavioural problems and, in mothers, postnatal depression.
Dietary fibre supplement could suppress food allergies
16 July, 2024The new research found that inulin gel, specifically formulated with an allergen, normalised the imbalanced intestinal microbiota and metabolites in allergic mice.
Lab-grown muscles reveal mysteries of rare genetic disorder
10 July, 2024Biomedical engineers have been growing complex, functional 3D muscle tissue from stem cells in order to better understand and test treatments for an extremely rare muscle disorder.
