Australian researchers have uncovered clues in the immune system that reveal how the balance of ‘good’ gut bacteria is maintained. This information could help in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE IMAGE: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SETH MASTERS AND DR ALAN YU. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that the increased presence of...
Tag: <span>Immune system</span>
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Newly found ‘micro-organ’ is immune response ‘headquarters’
We know that our bodies learn how to mount efficient defenses to disease and infection after exposure to such health hazards. In short, our bodies “learn” to identify the culprits and how to destroy them. Where is that “memory” activated and the response mounted? New research finally reveals where the immune response actually starts in the body....
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A dose of baking soda a day keeps autoimmune disease away
Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia (GA, USA) have evidence that a daily dose of baking soda may help the spleen to promote an anti-inflammatory environment. This could be therapeutic for the inflammation caused by autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The results, published in the Journal of Immunology, suggest that baking soda could be...
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The best foods for boosting your immune system
By Lana Burgess A strong immune system helps to keep a person healthy. Can specific foods boost the immune system? The immune system consists of organs, cells, tissues, and proteins. Together, these carry out bodily processes that fight off pathogens, which are the viruses, bacteria, and foreign bodies that cause infection or disease. When the...
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Watching the immune system in action reveals what happens when things goes wrong
Scientists are unveiling how our immune system works – and malfunctions – thanks to an innovative technology that tracks immune cells. Image: ‘Timer’ protein fluorescence across time. Credit: Imperial College LondonThe technology has already been used to look at immune cells involved in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis and could provide valuable insights into autoimmune diseases. As immune cells travel...
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How the brain’s ‘immune memory’ may lead to Alzheimer’s
A new study shows that microglia, which are the immune cells of the central nervous system, can “remember” inflammation. This “memory” influences how the cells react to new stimuli and deal with a toxic plaque in the brain, a marker of Alzheimer’s disease. The brain’s immune cells remember previous inflammation. Microglia, sometimes referred to as...
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Bad antibodies made good: The immune system’s secret weapon uncovered
The ‘bad apples’ of the immune system are also its secret weapon, according to major Australian research published today in the world-leading journal Science. In a world first, scientists from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research have revealed how a population of ‘bad’ antibodies in the immune system – which are usually ‘silenced’ because they can...
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Immune system ‘double agent’ could be new ally in cancer fight
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have discovered that an enzyme called TAK1 functions like a “double agent” in the innate immune response, serving as an unexpected regulator of inflammation and cell death. The findings highlight TAK1 inhibition as a potential cancer treatment. TAK1 is a kinase known to promote inflammation. But Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, Ph.D.,...
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The battle between cancer and the immune system—who switches the off signals off?
Research centred on PDL1, an ‘immune checkpoint’ protein and prominent target of cancer immunotherapies. Scientists have discovered key new information about how to boost our immune system’s fight against cancer. Their research revealed a trick that healthy cells use to prevent undue suppression of the immune response. The study, by scientists from the University of York,...
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Subset of stem cells identified as source for all cells in blood and immune systems
Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have identified a specific subset of adult blood stem cells that is exclusively responsible for repopulating the entire blood and immune system after a transplant. The discovery, to be published Nov. 1 in Science Translational Medicine, has the potential to revolutionize blood stem cell transplantation as well as the delivery and...