Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified over 250 proteins that are strongly affected by malaria, which could help predict the severity of the disease and thus enable faster treatment for the most critical patients.

Researchers from the universities of Basel and Zurich have used a historical specimen from UZH’s Medical Collection to decode the genome of the virus responsible for the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic in Switzerland. The genetic material of the virus reveals that it had already developed key adaptations to humans at the outset of what became the deadliest influenza pandemic in history.

Researchers describe six subsets of memory B cells — including one subset that produces the transcription factor T-bet. Using detailed genetic analysis and manipulation, they show that continuous T-bet expression in these cells is key to preserving the protective B-cell memory response. In a mouse influenza model, they found that T-bet expression was required for the persistence of lung and lymph node memory B cells that have rapid differentiation potential to become antibody-producing plasma cells.

The azuki bean beetle is a common pest of stored beans and peas. Researchers at Kyushu University have found that when beetles infected with Wolbachia bacteria are exposed to elevated temperature and carbon dioxide they tend to produce larger eggs to enhance the survivability of their offspring. Interestingly, these larger eggs gave rise only to male larvae.