Immunology

Too Little Is Known About Probiotics To Say They Work

We don't actually know whether probiotics have a measurable impact on digestive health- and if it is positive. brownpau /Flickr, CC BY-SA By Paul Bertrand, RMIT University; Andrew Ball, RMIT University, and Kate Polglaze, RMIT University ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 15 2020 - 2:00pm

BCG: New Life For The 99-Year-Old Tuberculosis Vaccine?

After Robert Koch first separated Mycobacterium bovis from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and seeing the success of vaccination in preventing smallpox, scientists believed that infection with bovine tuberculosis might protect against human tuberculosis. It wa ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2020 - 11:41am

Is Tamiflu Part Of A $1.5 Billion Fraud?

Oseltamivir, which goes by the brand name Tamiflu and is sold by Hoffmann-La Roche, has long claimed to shorten the duration of flu severity, to skepticism and sometimes even derision from the evidence-based science community. A recently unsealed whistlebl ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 23 2020 - 5:15pm

Coronavirus 2019 Is A New Human-Infecting Coronavirus, Genetically Distinct From Human SARS

New genetic analysis of 10 genome sequences of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from nine patients in Wuhan finds that the virus is most closely related to two bat-derived SARS-like coronaviruses, according to a study published in The Lancet. The authors say ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 29 2020 - 12:39pm

Are Travel Bans During Infectious Disease Outbreaks Effective?

Smallpox was wiped out by using mathematical containment rings coupled with vaccines and it makes sense that one way to contain an infectious disease outbreak is to limit travel. Unless travel bans are only bans for some people. In communist China, elites ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 14 2020 - 6:30am

Sepsis, Chronic Ventilation Usage, Blood Clotting: Risk Factors For Coronavirus Death Identified

A new paper has identified the risk factors for death from COVID-19, also called coronavirus and Wuhan flu, and they are much like any other flu; being older and having pre-existing conditions are the biggest concerns.  The results are observational from 1 ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 9 2020 - 11:52am

There's Good News In An Analysis Of First Person-To-Person Transmission Of COVID-19 In The US

On January 23, 2020, Illinois reported the state's first laboratory-confirmed case (index case) of  severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, in a woman in her 60s who had returned from Wuhan, China in mid-J ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 12 2020 - 12:07pm

How Long Will Coronavirus In A Cough Stay In The Air?

Though COVID-19 as a disease is rather difficult to get, spreading the coronavirus itself is as easy as spreading influenza viruses. The big risks will be from a sneeze, though COVID-19 doesn't have much sneezing, or a cough, or touching someone' ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Mar 13 2020 - 4:26pm

Pregnant Women Aren't Passing COVID-19 To Infants

The 2019 version of the coronavirus that has spread to about 50 countries across the world doesn't appear to be transmittable from pregnant mothers to newborns at birth. The new case study is the second out of China within the last month to confirm th ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 16 2020 - 3:09am

5 Common Misconceptions About Seasonal Flu

It’s that time of the year again. You probably think I mean Christmas, but as a virologist the sight of glitter, fairy lights and moulting pine trees immediately makes me think of the flu season. And if there’s one thing that can ruin your family’s Christ ...

Article - The Conversation - Mar 19 2020 - 9:19am