Researchers at the University of Galway have revealed the results of a world-first study into how bowel cancer shuts down the immune system, and how this can be reversed to improve treatment.

The findings have been published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC).

The research team showed how structural stromal cells switch off the immune system and how the body’s own killer cells can be switched back on, opening up the opportunity for a completely new approach to optimising immunotherapy for patients.

Researchers from A*STAR’s Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR IDL) have discovered that mosquito saliva can influence how the body’s immune system responds to chikungunya virus infection. The team identified a mosquito salivary protein, sialokinin, that dampens early immune responses by interacting with human immune cells, potentially allowing the virus to spread more easily and contribute to severe symptoms. The findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight how mosquito saliva factors shape infection outcomes and offer new directions for vaccines, treatments, and infectious disease preparedness.Researchers from A*STAR’s Infectious Diseases Labs (IDL) have discovered that mosquito saliva can influence how the body’s immune system responds to chikungunya virus infection. The team identified a mosquito salivary protein, sialokinin, that dampens early immune responses by interacting with human immune cells, potentially allowing the virus to spread more easily and contribute to severe symptoms. The findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight how mosquito saliva factors shape infection outcomes and offer new directions for vaccines, treatments, and infectious disease preparedness.

Doctors and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC have developed a new treatment for epilepsy patients who don’t respond to medication and aren’t candidates for surgery. Their approach, published today in Nature Communications, uses deep brain stimulation (DBS) that is tailored to each patient’s unique brain wiring.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have created microscopic soft robots shaped like flowers that can change shape and behavior in response to their surroundings, just like living organisms do.