The U. S. government has taken a surprising step back in its fight against potential health threats. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently canceled a significant contract with Moderna, a biotech company known for its COVID-19 vaccine. This contract, worth $766 million, was aimed at developing a new vaccine for bird flu, specifically the H5N1 stra...
Glioblastoma is a serious type of brain tumor. It is aggressive and hard to treat. This has made it a major focus in medical research. One promising area of study is the development of vaccines. These vaccines aim to boost the body's immune system to fight the tumor. Vaccines work by teaching the immune system to recognize and attack specific targets. In the case of...
Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is a tricky virus. It can cause serious problems for unborn babies, newborns, and people with weak immune systems. Right now, doctors do not have a vaccine to prevent it. Plus, there are not many treatments available. This makes fighting hCMV a real challenge. Researchers took a close look at how the human body fights back against hCMV. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global challenge, affecting health systems and economies worldwide. It has been a tough time for everyone. The virus, known as SARS-CoV-2, spread quickly. This pushed scientists to work fast on creating vaccines. These vaccines were developed to help control the virus's spread and reduce its impact. In Yaounde, two districts were st...
The US Department of Health and Human Services has a bold plan. They want to create a universal flu vaccine within four years. This vaccine would protect against multiple virus strains, including the scary H5N1 avian influenza. It's a big deal because the last time something like this was attempted was 45 years ago. The project, called Generation Gold Standard, is a...
The world has been in a tough spot since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With over 2. 5 million lives lost, healthcare systems strained, and economies struggling, finding a way out became urgent. Vaccines were seen as the key to getting back to normal. Lots of money and brainpower went into making them fast. But, making vaccines is only half the battle. Getting people vac...
Scientists were quick to share what they knew about COVID-19. They had to guess a lot at first. They thought COVID-19 would act like other viruses. They were wrong about many things. They thought it would be easy to stop. They thought it would not spread through the air. They thought masks were not needed. They thought vaccines would take years to make. They thought ...
Imagine a tiny fish, swimming in a crowded tank. It's vulnerable to diseases, one of which is piscine francisellosis. This nasty infection, caused by a bacterium called Francisella orientalis, can wipe out entire populations of tilapia, a popular fish for farming. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines to protect these fish. But what if there was a w...
Deep learning is making waves in the world of vaccine development. It's all about predicting how our immune system will react to foreign invaders. Scientists have been working on this for a while, but it's been a bit hit or miss. Enter MUNIS, a new deep learning model that's changing the game. This model can spot peptides that are presented by HLA-I alleles, whic...
First, let's talk about the enemy. A tiny worm called Haemonchus contortus is causing big problems for goats. These worms are sneaky. They use special tools, HcTPS and HcGOB, to make a sugar called trehalose. This sugar helps the worms and messes with the goat's immune system. Scientists have a clever idea. What if we could use the worm's own tricks against it? They...