Epstein–Barr virus (coloured electron microscope image) is among several viruses in the body that can be reactivated by severe bouts of COVID-19.Credit: James Cavallini/Science Photo Library A severe bout of COVID-19 can wake up an army of dormant viruses hiding inside the body. That’s according to a study of more than 1,000 people hospitalized with
Half a century ago, biochemists Georges Köhler and César Milstein kicked off a revolution in medicine. Their 1975 paper described how to mass-produce monoclonal antibodies: proteins that can be designed to recognize and bind specifically to almost any protein target1. These antibodies have since become a workhorse of biological research and the basis of blockbuster
Bites from a lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), which live on white-tailed deer, are the main cause of α-gal allergy in the United States.Credit: BackyardProduction/Getty Thomas Platts-Mills develops a rash if he eats red meat. The immunologist is one of thousands of people who are diagnosed each year with tick-induced α-gal allergy — a life-threatening
Atahualpa, the last Incan emperor, was seized by troops in 1532 during the Spanish Conquest, but smallpox had already devastated the Inca Empire around 1524–1528.Credit: Florilegius/Alamy More than 400 years ago, two people living in modern day Chile died while infected with the smallpox virus. Viral DNA found in their mummified remains has now yielded
Polio vaccination in Pakistan, where the wild virus continues to circulate.Credit: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty If you are under 60, the global quest to eradicate polio has been with you for most of your adult life. During that time, the natural strain of the virus, also known as wild-type polio, has been eliminated from almost all countries.
the idea that Cancer could behave like a contagious disease may seem absurd; In humans, cancer cannot be transmitted from one person to another. However, nature is still full of surprises. In rare cases, the cancer cells themselves can pass from one individual to another and continue to multiply in a new host. This rare