Bacterium common in the mouse gut microbiome can charge up the immune system to fight cancer cells in the colon. The study showed that bacterium Helicobacter hepaticus boosted adaptive immune response and prompted selective activation of Helper T cells and antibody-producing B cells, causing colon tumors to shrink and lengthening survival in mice. The pioneering…

Sleep apnea in pregnancy may increase the risk for brain and behavioral changes associated with autism, especially in males, according to a study in rats. During episodes of sleep apnea, breathing is partially or completely interrupted, often hundreds of timers per night, causing intermittent hypoxia, or decreased blood oxygenation. The incidence of sleep apnea during…

Getting the flu shot can reduce the chances of infection. But, at best, the vaccine is only effective 40% to 60% of the time, according to the CDC. Now researchers have data that show how cellular RNA levels change following infection or vaccination. Their work could help make future flu vaccines work better or even…

Researchers have come one step closer toward understanding why some people become seriously ill or die from a common bacterium that leaves most people unharmed. The researchers linked RNA mutations within the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis to invasive meningococcal disease, marking the first time a non-coding RNA in a bacterium has been linked to disease progression.…

A previously unknown virus that can infect humans and cause disease has been identified by scientists in Japan. The novel infectious virus, named Yezo virus and transmitted by tick bites, causes a disease characterized by fever and a reduction in blood platelets and leucocytes. Keita Matsuno, a virologist at Hokkaido University’s International Institute for Zoonosis…

Scientists have redesigned a key component of a widely used CRISPR-based gene-editing tool, called Cas9, to be thousands of times less likely to target the wrong stretch of DNA while remaining just as efficient as the original version, making it potentially much safer. One of the grand challenges with using CRISPR-based gene editing on humans…

A new study has illuminated an important process that occurs during cell division and is a likely source of DNA damage under some circumstances, including cancer. The scientists, who reported their findings in Nucleic Acids Research, devised a sophisticated experimental platform for studying the process called «origin licensing.» Cells use this process to regulate, or…

Researchers have developed a novel vaccine that in guinea pigs offers protection against infection by the bacterium that causes Lyme disease and may also combat other tick-borne diseases, they report. Instead of triggering an immune response against a particular pathogen, the new vaccine prompts a quick response in the skin to components of tick saliva,…

Researchers have created a gene therapy vector that is essentially an off-the-shelf tool that allows labs to create their own COVID-19 mouse model within a matter of days. This simple tool could help overcome a major research hurdle — the lack of good, widely available animal models for developing and testing new anti-viral therapies and…

Interacting contagious diseases like influenza and pneumonia — and perhaps coronavirus too — follow the same complex spreading patterns as social trends, like the adoption of new slang or technologies. This new finding could lead to better tracking and intervention when multiple diseases spread through a population at the same time. «The interplay of diseases…