This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American The very first line of defence against any ...

Innate Immunity is a nonspecific host defense mechanism against foreign antigens. It is the first line of defense in a host and occurs immediately or within hours after exposure. This type of immunity ...

Humans are protected by two branches of the immune system. Innate immunity provides built-in defense against widespread characteristics of bacteria and viruses, while adaptive immunity memorizes ...

In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reviewed selected acute-phase proteins concerning their production, structure, and function. The advent of severe acute ...

Innate immune sensors – known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) – detect specific molecular components of bacterial or viral intruders. The PRRs forward the signals which results in the ...

Researchers from Penn’s School of Dental Medicine discovered that training the innate immune system may lead to increased bone loss in inflammatory conditions such as periodontitis and arthritis.

Researchers have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 hijacks three important host proteins that dampen the activity of the complement system, a key component of early antiviral immunity. This significantly ...

We sometimes hear about the benefits of “boosting” our immune system, but what we really want to do is support our immune system on an ongoing basis. People often think of the immune system as ...

Among people with sickle cell disease—an inherited blood disorder—acute chest syndrome (ACS) is the leading cause of death. The condition is the result of red blood cells becoming stiff, sticky, and ...

Oncolytic virus immunotherapy has been proposed as a step forward for cancer treatment because it can kill cancer cells while activating the immune system. However, its current clinical application is ...