Flu fighter: Nanoparticle-based vaccine effective in preclinical trials
An experimental flu vaccine consisting of billions of tiny spherical sacs that carry infection-fighting proteins throughout the body has proven effective in preclinical studies. The vaccine has the...
View ArticleStreptococcus pneumoniae sticks to dying lung cells, worsening secondary...
Researchers have found a further reason for the severity of dual infection by influenza and Streptococcus pneumonia -- a new virulence mechanism for a surface protein on the pneumonia-causing bacteria...
View ArticleVaccines grown in eggs induce antibody response against an egg-associated...
Researchers have found that viral vaccines grown in eggs, such as the H1N1 flu vaccine, produce an antibody response against a sugar molecule found in eggs, which could have implications for the...
View ArticleWhere have all the birds gone?
A new study has revealed that over the last 20,000 to 50,000 years, birds have undergone a major extinction event, inflicted chiefly by humans, which caused the disappearance of about 10 to 20 percent...
View ArticleNew research provides clues to developing better intranasal vaccines for...
While gut microbiota play a critical role in the induction of adaptive immune responses to influenza virus infection, the role of nasal bacteria in the induction of virus-specific adaptive immunity is...
View ArticleBird malaria spreading via global ‘hotspots’
Bird species across the globe are suffering and dying from a type of malaria and, while these strains are not infectious to humans, they're spreading quickly through global transmission hotspots.
View ArticleCell-based influenza vaccine provides protection against the flu in children
A cell-based influenza vaccine has effectively provided protection against the flu in children and adolescents, according to a new study.
View ArticleFlu and heart disease: The surprising connection that should convince you to...
Patients who have cardiovascular disease are at increased risk of serious complications from the flu, according to a new study. The study found that not only are traditional flu-related outcomes worse...
View ArticleNew technique better assesses exposure of a population to a virus
Accurately assessing the exposure of a population to a particular virus is difficult because the tools for doing so do not account for the fact that many viruses comprise multiple circulating strains,...
View ArticleFlu virus shells could improve delivery of mRNA into cells
Nanoengineers have developed a new and potentially more effective way to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) into cells. Their approach involves packing mRNA inside nanoparticles that mimic the flu virus -- a...
View ArticleNew nasal spray treats Delta variant infection in mice, indicating broad...
Researchers have shown a new compound delivered in a nasal spray is highly effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in mice. The researchers believe this is the first...
View ArticleUniversal flu vaccine candidate
Scientists have leveraged on a novel vaccine platform to deliver M2e to immune cells. This allowed them to prove that a single shot immunization containing M2e was able to trigger long-lasting immune...
View ArticleGlobal bird populations steadily declining
Staggering declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. So concludes a study from scientists at multiple institutions. Loss and degradation of natural habitats and direct...
View ArticleFlu causes cardiac complications by directly infecting the heart
Researchers have shown for the first time in mice that heart problems associated with the flu are not caused by raging inflammation in the lungs, as has long been predicted. Instead, the electrical...
View ArticleType-I interferon stops immune system 'going rogue' during viral infections
Researchers have discovered that Type I interferon (IFN) plays a key role in helping the immune system effectively target viruses, while stopping white blood cells from 'going rogue' and attacking the...
View ArticleAvian influenza: How it's spreading and what to know about this outbreak
A new study takes a data-driven look at influenza viruses circulating among different groups of birds and characterizes which types of birds are involved in spreading the virus. This paper publishes at...
View ArticleNew way to identify influenza A virus lights up when specific virus targets...
In order to quickly detect the presence of the influenza A virus, researchers developed a fluorogenic probe that could bind to the promoter region. A fluorogenic probe uses tiny molecules called...
View ArticleUniversal influenza B vaccine induces broad, sustained protection, biomedical...
A new universal flu vaccine protects against influenza B viruses, offering broad defense against different strains and improved immune protection, according to a new study.
View ArticleWhy some flu viruses cause more severe infections
Research uses computational modeling to try to understand the body's immune response to avian flu. His latest work finds that the levels of interferon may be responsible for its more severe...
View ArticleUniversal flu vaccine protects against variants of both influenza A and B...
A new universal flu vaccine protects against diverse variants of both influenza A and B viruses in mice, according to a new study.
View ArticleIntensified meat production in response to climate change would bring...
As climate change threatens global food supplies, countries will need to increase the efficiency of food production, bringing about short-term gains, such as decreased deforestation, but long-term...
View ArticleTemperature, nearby species could affect avian flu transmission in migrating...
Finding a turkey this holiday season could be difficult because of avian flu outbreaks on farms. Migratory wild birds could be to blame for transmitting the virus to commercial flocks, but no one has...
View ArticleEffects of highly pathogenic avian influenza on canids investigated
Researchers have revealed the effects of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus infection on an Ezo red fox and a Japanese raccoon dog, linking their infection to a recorded die-off of crows.
View ArticleDeveloping mucosal vaccines for respiratory viruses
Vaccines that provide long-lasting protection against influenza, coronaviruses and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have proved exceptionally difficult to develop. Researchers now explore the...
View ArticleAvian flu could decimate Australian black swans
The unique genetics of the Australian black swan leaves the species vulnerable to viral illnesses such as avian flu, new research has revealed.
View ArticleNew vaccine platform could ease development, delivery of virus-fighters
By repurposing one of the human body's natural cargo transports, a research team has developed a vaccine platform that could curb certain engineering challenges, storage demands and side effects of...
View ArticleBald eagles aren't fledging as many chicks due to avian influenza
Bald eagles are often touted as a massive conservation success story due to their rebound from near extinction in the 1960s. But now a highly infectious virus may put that hard-fought comeback in...
View ArticleBird flu associated with hundreds of seal deaths in New England in 2022
Researchers have found that an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was associated with the deaths of more than 330 New England harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in...
View ArticleMemory B cell marker predicts long-lived antibody response to flu vaccine
Memory B cells play a critical role to provide long-term immunity after a vaccination or infection. Researchers have now described a distinct and novel subset of memory B cells that predict long-lived...
View ArticleIs it COVID-19 or the flu? New sensor could tell you in 10 seconds
Have a cough, sore throat and congestion? Any number of respiratory viruses could be responsible. Today, scientists report using a single-atom-thick nanomaterial to build a device that can...
View ArticleFirst Nations populations at greater risk of severe flu, research finds
New research has found that First Nations populations around the world are significantly more likely to be hospitalized and die from influenza compared to non-Indigenous populations.
View ArticleWhy this bird flu is different: Scientists say new avian influenza requires...
A new study tracks arrival and spread of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) decimating wild birds, impacting poultry and pushing up egg prices. The team found that the deadly impact on wild birds...
View ArticleStudy shows key role for human T cells in the control of Respiratory...
A new study has shown that human T cells have an important role to play in controlling infection.
View ArticleGenetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread
Scientists found the virus strains that arrived in 2021 soon acquired genes from viruses in wild birds in North America. The resulting reassortant viruses have spread across the continent and caused...
View ArticleHow the flu virus hacks our cells
Influenza epidemics, caused by influenza A or B viruses, result in acute respiratory infection. They kill half a million people worldwide every year. These viruses can also wreak havoc on animals, as...
View ArticleStudy explores how often children diagnosed with flu experience serious...
While the incidence of influenza-associated neuropsychiatric events in children in the United States is unknown, the controversy over the use of a common antiviral medication typically administered to...
View Article'Swine flu' strain has passed from humans to swine nearly 400 times since 2009
A new study of the strain of influenza A responsible for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic -- pdm09 -- shows that the virus has passed from humans to swine about 370 times since 2009, and subsequent circulation...
View ArticleMutation accessibility fuels influenza evolution
Scientists showed that fixed mutations within a viral population most likely stem from how easy it is to acquire that mutation (i.e., mutation accessibility) rather than just its benefit.
View ArticleMolecules in vegetables can help to ease lung infection
Researchers have found that molecules in vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower help to maintain a healthy barrier in the lung and ease infection.
View ArticleBird flu is undergoing changes that could increase the risk of widespread...
A new study has shown that a subtype of avian flu virus, endemic in poultry farms in China, is undergoing mutational changes, which could increase the risk of the disease being passed on to humans.
View ArticleFlu: Interferon-gamma from T follicular helper cells is required to create...
During a bout of influenza, B cells interact with other immune cells and then take different paths to defend the body. One path is the B cells that differentiate into lung-resident memory B cells, or...
View ArticleTo prepare for next pandemic, researchers tackle bird flu
Researchers have developed an improved way to test potential vaccines against bird flu.
View ArticleEvidence from the remains of 1918 flu pandemic victims contradicts long-held...
New analysis of the remains of victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, contradicts the widespread belief the flu disproportionately impacted...
View ArticleAntiviral treatment is largely underused in children with influenza, study...
Despite national medical guidelines supporting the use of antiviral medications in young children diagnosed with influenza, a new study reports an underuse of the treatment.
View ArticleSurveilling wetlands for infectious bird flu -- and finding it
Recently, morning omelets and holiday dinners have gotten more expensive. One likely cause is bird flu, outbreaks of which led to the deaths of millions of chickens and turkeys from infection or...
View ArticleExperiments in infant mice suggest new way to prevent spread of flu in people
Scientists have long known that some viruses and bacteria begin infections by latching first onto sugar molecules on the surfaces of cells lining the sinuses and throat of mammals, including humans....
View ArticleFlu virus variants resistant to new antiviral drug candidate lose pathogenicity
Influenza A viruses with induced resistance to a new candidate antiviral drug were found to be impaired in cell culture and weakened in animals, according to a new study.
View ArticleInteractions between flu subtypes predict epidemic severity more than virus...
Researchers have shed new light on how viral evolution, population immunity, and the co-circulation of other flu viruses shape seasonal flu epidemics.
View ArticleNew antibodies target 'dark side' of influenza virus protein
Researchers have identified antibodies targeting a hard-to-spot region of the influenza virus, shedding light on the relatively unexplored 'dark side' of the neuraminidase (NA) protein head. The...
View ArticleHumans pass more viruses to other animals than we catch from them
Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral genomes.
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