immune system

After scientists screened over 8,000 genes in fruit flies, only one, which hadn't been described before, triggered sleepiness.

Sick And Tired? Scientists Find Protein That Puts Flies To Sleep And Fights Infection

2:13pm January 31, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

In the search for what triggers sleep, researchers stumbled upon a link between sleep and the immune system. A single fly gene gets turned on in sick flies, inducing sleep and an immune response.

A scanning electron micrograph shows microglial cells (yellow) ingesting branched oligodendrocyte cells (purple), a process thought to occur in multiple sclerosis. Oligodendrocytes form insulating myelin sheaths around nerve axons in the central nervous s

Researchers Find A Web Of Factors Behind Multiple Sclerosis

8:35am January 21, 2019

by Bret Stetka

It's looking like MS strikes when a variety of triggers gang up to impair neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers are using their new knowledge to search for treatments.

Aviv Regev, a core member of the Broad Institute, is leading the international Human Cell Atlas Consortium.

Ambitious 'Human Cell Atlas' Aims To Catalog Every Type Of Cell In The Body

5:00am August 13, 2018

by Karen Weintraub

Already the project has revealed a previously unknown type of cell in the windpipe that might play a role in cystic fibrosis — and lead to a new treatment, scientists say.

Shaorong Deng gets an experimental treatment for cancer of the esophagus that uses his own immune system cells. They have been genetically modified with the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR.

Doctors In China Lead Race To Treat Cancer By Editing Genes

11:58am February 21, 2018

by Rob Stein

More than a third of patients with cancer of the esophagus responded to experimental treatment in China with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. Several CRISPR studies are underway there.

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This light micrograph of a part of a brain affected by Alzheimer's disease shows an accumulation of darkened plaques, which have molecules called amyloid-beta at their core. Once dismissed as all bad, amyloid-beta might actually be a useful part of the im

Scientists Explore Ties Between Alzheimer's And Brain's Ancient Immune System

5:00am February 18, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

Their first epiphanies came during musings over beer, and evolved into a decade of teamwork. Two Harvard researchers explain why they think Alzheimer's disease may be traced to an immunity glitch.

You'd be doing us and yourself a favor if you'd just stay in bed.

It's Not Just A Cold, It's 'Sickness Behavior'

11:51am January 06, 2018

by Nancy Shute

Feeling grumpy and antisocial because you've got a cold? That's not just a random side effect. It's your body saying, "Hey, slow down and rest so you can get better."

Alzheimer's disease causes atrophy of brain tissue. The discovery that lymph vessels near the brain's surface help remove waste suggests glitches in the lymph system might be involved in Alzheimer's and a variety of other brain diseases.

Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's

6:10pm October 03, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

For centuries, scientists thought the human brain had no direct connection to the body's immune system. Now researchers seem to have found one, and say it may offer clues to multiple sclerosis, too.

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The idea that people with ME/CFS needed strenuous exercise has been proven wrong.

For People With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, More Exercise Isn't Better

12:44pm October 02, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Centers for Disease Control has revised recommendations for treating ME/CFS and now says that vigorous exercise can make symptoms worse. Patient advocates say it's a huge victory.

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In addition to profound exhaustion that isn't relieved with sleep, the illness now called ME/CFS includes flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, "brain fog" and various other physical symptoms, all of which typically worsen with even minor exertion.

Scientists Edge Closer To Elusive Lab Test For 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'

3:26pm July 31, 2017

by Miriam E. Tucker

Stanford University scientists have found an array of proteins in the blood whose levels correlate closely with the severity of symptoms of the mysterious illness that's increasingly known as ME/CFS.

Jack Gilbert, co-author of the book "Dirt Is Good," says kids should be encouraged to get dirty, play with animals and eat colorful vegetables.

'Dirt Is Good': Why Kids Need Exposure To Germs

7:15am July 16, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Should I use antibacterial soaps? How often should I bathe my child? Those are just some of the questions Jack Gilbert, a microbiome scientist, answers in his new book.