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Allergy and immunology news

Long dismissed in adult health, the thymus may be critical for longevity and cancer treatment

Two new studies from investigators at Mass General Brigham challenge a decades-old assumption that the thymus, an organ best known for its role in establishing immune function in childhood, becomes irrelevant in adulthood. ...

Scientists create cancer-fighting immune cells right in the body

For years, one of the most powerful weapons against certain blood cancers, called CAR-T cell therapy, has required an elaborate process: Doctors extract a patient's immune cells, ship them to a specialized facility where ...

Implantable 'charging station' boosts fight against cancer

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment by harnessing the body's own immune system to fight disease. But many engineered immune cells lose strength quickly after they enter the body, especially inside tumors that actively ...

Math can tell you how to manage your eczema

Anyone with a chronic illness understands the struggle of living with a disease that is deeply unpredictable. Many such illnesses are characterized by long periods of remission broken up by sudden, debilitating flare-ups. ...

Here's what you need to know about cancer vaccine development

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for over 613,000 fatalities in 2023, per the Centers for Disease Control. But the field of cancer vaccines, which can be used as a form of treatment, ...

Anchoring a key immune molecule makes T cells hit harder

Researchers at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology have found that physically resisting the formation of an immunological synapse actually promotes a stronger immune response. The findings could help explain how immune ...

How one flu virus can hamper the immune response to another

Prior exposure to one strain of influenza virus may weaken children's ability to mount an effective antibody response against their subsequent exposure to a different flu strain, according to a study led by Weill Cornell ...