Just as a computer’s operating system can be rewritten after a major update, dengue infection can ‘re-programme’ the body’s immune system, leaving a long-lasting genetic imprint that influences how people respond to future infections—an effect not seen with vaccination. This finding from a new study sheds light on the mechanics of dengue disease progression and vaccine action, filling an important knowledge gap on how even imperfect vaccines can be used safely.

A new study reveals that frailty-associated gut dysbiosis significantly elevates the risk of gastrointestinal complications following intracorporeal urinary diversion for bladder cancer. Despite short-term antibiotic prophylaxis, residual intra-abdominal bacteria and fungi—particularly Enterococcus and Enterobacter—were strongly associated with postoperative ileus and infections. The findings underscore frailty as a key determinant of surgical outcomes and point toward microbiota-based management strategies to improve recovery and reduce complications.

Heme binding to a bacterial transcription factor is critical for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) signaling, report researchers from Japan. Heme binding promotes the reaction of H₂S with the transcription factor, leading to structural changes that can regulate stress tolerance in bacteria. The mechanism reported in this study explains bacterial resistance via H₂S sensing and highlights a previously unknown role of heme in cell signaling. Disrupting this mechanism could inspire new antibiotic strategies against drug-resistant infections. 

Antibodies are the critical targeting agents of the immune system and the crux of immune therapy and vaccine development, but studying them is slow, expensive and labor-intensive. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new high-volume method that can rapidly build and test large numbers of antibodies at once. With it, they have already uncovered common aspects of how antibodies bind across variants of a key influenza target protein.