In an international collaboration, researchers have mapped the lymph node lymphatic vessels in mice and humans down to the level of individual cells. The results may eventually help scientists to discover new methods for strengthening the immune system against viruses and cancer. The unique microenvironment of the lymph nodes plays an important role in maintaining…

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in dramatic changes to human mobility, which has the potential to change the transmission dynamics of other infectious diseases. Now, researchers have found that social distancing has led to a significant increase in dengue infections in Thailand but no change in dengue in Singapore or Malaysia. The dengue virus…

A newly discovered protein helps bacteria recognize stress hormones in the human body and direct their motion in the host. In humans and animals, catecholamines such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine are common stress hormones. Stress can increase the body’s susceptibility to bacterial infections. In the laboratory, stress hormones stimulate the growth of various pathogens.…

Cells are characterized to be stable yet highly flexible. They constantly modify their shape and even move through tissue. These vital properties are based on a dynamically organized network of branched actin filaments, which generates pushing forces to move the cell membrane. An interdisciplinary team has now revealed a previously unknown mechanism, explaining how stopping…

Researchers discovered that although the brain regulates feeding for pleasure and for hunger through serotonin-producing neurons in the midbrain, each type of feeding is wired by its own independent circuit that does not influence the other type of feeding. Overeating, whether it is guided by hunger or pleasure, typically leads to obesity, which affects about…

Antiretroviral therapy, the common approach in the treatment of HIV, halts replication of the virus and has saved the lives of millions of people. However, for patients the drug cocktail becomes a lifetime necessity because they continue to harbor latent HIV in a small number of immune system cells. In the absence of treatment, HIV…

An explosion in the number and types of immune cells in the lungs of newborn mice likely helps them adapt to breathing and protects them from infection, says a new study. The findings, from Stanford University and Stanford School of Medicine, US, provide detailed information about dramatic shifts in the immune cells in the lungs…

Embryonic stem cells and other pluripotent cells divide rapidly and have the capacity to become nearly any cell type in the body. Scientists have long sought to understand the signals that prompt stem cells to switch off pluripotency and adopt their final functional state. In a new study, researchers report that they have identified a…

Cerebral palsy (CP) affects around two out of every 1000 children born worldwide. Physical therapy is the foremost way of improving movement, balance, and posture in children with CP. Research has shown that hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy involving horse riding, is effective for treating CP. But how exactly does it help? In a…

Contrary to the long-held view that semen can only act as a way to transmit HIV-1 from men to women, scientists found that frequent and sustained semen exposure can change the characteristics of the circulating and vaginal tissue immune cells that are targets for infection, reducing the susceptibility to a future infection. Research previously reported…