Infectious microbes have evolved sophisticated means to invade host cells, outwit the body’s defenses and cause disease. While researchers have tried to puzzle out the complicated interactions between ...

Among the most famous demonstrations of genetic mutations driving infection outcome is severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers have identified new roles for a protein long known to protect against severe flu infection – among them, raising the minimum number of viral particles needed to cause ...

The immune system’s first encounter with a virus or vaccine establishes a “starting template” that shapes its response to new ...

Holly has a degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester. Her scientific interests include genomics, personalized medicine, and bioethics.View full profile Holly has a degree in ...

As the HIV virus glides up outside a human cell to dock and possibly inject its deadly cargo of genetic code, there’s a spectacularly brief moment in which a tiny piece of its surface snaps open to ...

Mycobacteria are the world's most deadly bacteria --c ausing infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB), which alone kills more than one million people each year. New drugs to fight these ...

Respiratory infections are among the leading causes of illness and death in the elderly, driven by immune aging, chronic ...

Pathogenic Salmonella injects effector proteins into the cells of the gastrointestinal tract to penetrate and multiply within them. The bacteria are usually ingested with contaminated food. They can ...

When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a ...