Category: Immunology
The journey to a pig-heart transplant began 60 years ago
On Friday, January 7 2022, David Bennett became the world’s first person to successfully receive a transplant of a pig’s heart. The eight-hour-long operation by surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA, was no doubt arduous. But it was a short final step in a 60-year-long journey to genetically alter the pig’s heart so that it would not be immediately rejected – a journey that began with a plane crash in Oxford in the summer of 1940.
COVID: why T cell vaccines could be the key to long-term immunity
T cells designed to fight COVID also appear to be much longer lasting in the human body than antibodies.
Omicron might evade antibodies – but that doesn’t mean you don’t have immunity
The bad news isn’t as bad as it could be, but the good news also needs to be treated with caution. Here’s why.
Can healthy people who eat right and exercise skip the COVID-19 vaccine? A research scientist and fitness enthusiast explains why the answer is no
I encourage people to do all they can to improve the health and functioning of their immune system, naturally. Then, seriously consider what additional protection would be gained from vaccination against COVID-19. When people make decisions based on the latest science – which is always evolving – rather than on emotions and misinformation, the decision should become much clearer.
Deciphering the symptoms of long COVID-19 is slow and painstaking – for both sufferers and their physicians
Long COVID-19 often involves a constellation of symptoms affecting many parts of the body, but the most commonly reported are fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pains, cognitive changes, headaches, sensory changes and pain.
Third dose of COVID-19 vaccine recommended for certain immunocompromised individuals
“A third dose of Pfizer or Moderna will provide those who need it extra protection and help shield some of our most vulnerable from the highly contagious delta variant,” said Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – the forgotten immunisation pioneer
Many people know the story of Edward Jenner’s discovery of vaccination against smallpox. but far fewer have heard of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
Is the new lambda COVID variant more dangerous?
Studies are ongoing, but for now, lambda remains a variant of interest rather than a variant of concern.
Women Now Drink as Much as Men — And Are Prone to Sickness Sooner
Women in their teens and early 20s now report drinking and getting drunk at higher rates than their male peers
We may never achieve long-term global herd immunity for COVID. But if we’re all vaccinated, we’ll be safe from the worst
IF we’re all vaccinated, we’ll be largely safe from the worst ravages of the infection even if it does break out.
Why you should get a COVID-19 vaccine – even if you’ve already had the coronavirus
Immunity after infection is unpredictable.
New research suggests immunity to COVID is better than we first thought
Key parts of the immune system can remember the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, for at least eight or nine months, possibly for years.
We’re outnumbered by bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that can make us ill. And the only thing standing between them and devastation is our immune system.
Training our immune systems: Why we should insist on a high-quality COVID-19 vaccine
The way we train our immune systems now to respond to SARS-CoV-2 could impact how well our bodies can respond to future coronaviruses.
Immune response to coronavirus weaker in men and elderly, UW study finds
Our bodies appear to mount a vigorous immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but that response is weaker in men and people over 60;