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.

FAPESP-supported startup develops formulations based on bio-inputs to combat fungal infections and reduce the use of pesticides in fruit growing.

A new collaborative study from the Wyss Institute leveraged a “breathing” human lung alveolus chip model of influenza A infection developed in the group of Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., drug delivery platforms advanced by Natalie Artzi, Ph.D. and her group, as well as state-of-the-art CRISPR technology. The team designed CRISPR machinery targeting a strongly conserved sequence in IAV’s genome, packaging it up in tiny nanoparticles with affinity to lung epithelial cells, and delivering the loaded particles to lung epithelial cells lining a microfluidic channel in the Lung Chip that were infected with a pandemic IAV. They demonstrated that this system better mimics human IAV infection than other preclinical models and enables assessing the efficacy and safety of CRISPR RNA therapies in a more clinically relevant way than earlier approaches.

An interdisciplinary team of University of Central Florida (UCF) researchers is creating a single low-cost test to detect HIV and Hepatitis B and C simultaneously, that may be used in resource-limited settings. The university recently was awarded a $537,619 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With quicker and more accessible results, the test has potential to save lives.