In a world first, researchers from Flinders University have applied advanced gene editing to explore how an enzyme, made famous in the COVID-19 pandemic, plays a pivotal role in the healthy development of the placenta during pregnancy.

Salk immunologists discover Prozac, an SSRI and one of the most prescribed drugs, protects against sepsis, wherein the body's inflammatory response overreacts and begins damaging organs and tissues. Prozac plays offense and defense by both boosting the immune system and fighting the infection, explaining previous observations that Prozac protects against COVID-19 and sepsis. Findings may pave way for SSRI toolkit that fights infections and enhances pandemic preparedness.

A team of researchers have made a new discovery in the field of hematology, providing an explanation for spontaneous and unusual blood-clotting that continues to occur despite treatment with full-dose blood thinners.

Collaborators Dr Jing Jing Wang (co-first author), Professor Tom Gordon, and colleagues from Flinders University played a key role in cracking the code of lethal blood antibodies mediating the new chronic blood clotting disorder.

The new study led by Professor Ted Warkentin from McMaster University in Canada was published in the leading international medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings are expected to influence how doctors test for, and treat patients with, unusual or recurrent blood clotting, with the potential to improve patient outcomes.

Our immune systems rely on iron to function, but so do invading viruses and bacteria. New research from Binghamton University, State Univerity of New York studying healthcare workers in Nigeria during COVID, reveals that very early in the arms race — when an infectious disease is emerging and still very new to humans — iron nutrition tradeoffs are in play.

 A team from Osaka University has developed scSPOT, a new technique that reveals how immune cells called Tregs simultaneously control the immune system. The team identified key immune cells controlled by Tregs and found that Tregs are targets for the cancer drugs ipilimumab and tazemetostat. They also found that Tregs are indicators of serious viral infection. This valuable technique may accelerate the development of treatments for cancer and other diseases.