March 2021: Infectious Disease
March 3, 2021
March 1, 2021 / University of Helsinki
A new study indicates that protein kinases, which initiate the process that erodes the body’s immunity, significantly contribute to the immunodeficiency in HIV patients. Drugs that block these protein kinases may offer a solution to treating HIV patients whose immunity is not restored by antiretroviral therapy.
February 25, 2021 / Biophysical Society
The Zika outbreak of 2015 and 2016 is having lasting impacts on children whose mothers became infected with the virus while they were pregnant. Though the numbers of Zika virus infections have dropped, which scientists speculate may be due to herd immunity in some areas, there is still potential for future outbreaks. To prevent such outbreaks, scientists want to understand how the immune system recognizes Zika virus, in hopes of developing vaccines against it.
February 25, 2021 / John Hopkins University
The pandemic has made clear the threat that some viruses pose to people. But viruses can also infect life-sustaining bacteria. A research team has developed a test to determine if bacteria are sick, similar to the one used to test humans for COVID-19.
