Featured series 
Tag: Immune System
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Nation & World
Research shows working out gets inflammation-fighting T cells moving
Activated by regular exercise, immune cells in muscles found to fend off inflammation, enhance endurance in mice
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Nation & World
Staying ahead of virus mutations
EVEscape uses evolutionary and biological information to predict how a virus could change to escape the immune system.
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Nation & World
Turns out lowly thymus may be saving your life
Study suggests organ plays vital role in immune health, particularly cancer prevention
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Nation & World
Designing a coronavirus vaccine
In response to this public health crisis, researchers in the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital are on the front lines of developing a vaccine specially targeted toward older populations
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Nation & World
Study suggests how measles depletes body’s immune memory
A new Harvard study shows measles wipes out 11 percent to 73 percent of antibodies against an array of viruses and bacteria, depleting a child’s previous immunity, which underscores the importance of measles vaccination.
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Nation & World
Epidemic of autoimmune diseases calls for action
Scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute are seeking ways to protect newly transplanted cells from autoimmune attack.
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Nation & World
Study explores whole-body immunity
New research on the immune system suggests that the molecule interferon plays an important role in activating antiviral genes across many tissues, helping against infection.
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Nation & World
Role of gut bacteria in averting Type 1 diabetes
Study finds guardian gene that protects against Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases exerts its pancreas-shielding effects by altering the gut microbiota.
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Nation & World
My microbes
A new study reports that the superabundance of microbial life lining our GI tracts has co-evolved with us. These bacteria, which are essential for a healthy immune system, are ultimately our evolutionary partners.
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Nation & World
Relief for stem cell transplant patients
In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The effect, in some cases, was profound.
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Nation & World
Detecting heart-valve infection
A novel imaging probe developed by a Harvard-led team of investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital may make it possible to diagnose accurately a dangerous infection of the heart valves.
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Nation & World
Keeping HIV out of the cradle
A Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative trial that gave HIV-positive mothers in Botswana antiretroviral drugs during the months after birth showed a dramatic reduction in the transmission of the virus from mothers to breast-fed babies.
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Nation & World
The hunt for healthy answers
JoAnn Manson leads a nationwide study to assess whether vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids can boost immunity and protect against ailments from heart disease to cancer.
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Nation & World
Cancer vaccine success
A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumors in mammals, scientists report this week (Nov. 25) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
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Nation & World
Noninfectious pathway for HIV found by HSPH team
HIV is a crafty virus. It attacks the body by invading and taking over the very cells meant to protect humans from infection. Hiding within cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes, the virus uses the body’s natural machinery to replicate itself, destroying the immune system and leaving patients open to a range of debilitating and…
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Nation & World
Saving your self from yourself
“Your gut is a complicated place,” notes Shannon Turley, an assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. In addition to processing food three or more times a day, an intestine needs to protect you from being damaged by yourself.