Mostly Microbes and Infection

  Just 10 months after the initial genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, two mRNA vaccines were demonstrated to provide 95% efficacy against symptomatic infections via randomized, placebo-controlled trials of more than 74,000 participants ( 1 ). That unprecedented success was, in part, fueled by the $10 billion governmental investment in Operation Warp Speed (OWS) in March 2020 to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. We urgently need such an accelerated initiative now for nasal vaccines. During the first year of the pandemic, meaningful evolution of the virus was slow-paced, without any functional consequences, but since that time we have seen a succession of important variants of concern, with increasing transmissibility and immune evasion, culminating in the Omicron lineages. With that, there has been a dramatic falloff in the capacity for vaccinations and booster shots to block infections and transmission ( 2 ). A major unmet cli...

  Stress & aging of the immune system. As people age, their immune systems naturally begin to decline. But not all immune systems age at the same rate. A recent study found that social stress is associated with signs of accelerated immunosenescence .

  Boswellia  trees, found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, are the source of frankincense oil. Since antiquity, frankincense has been traded as a precious commodity, but it has also been used for the treatment of chronic disease, inflammation, oral health, and microbial infection.  

  Lung samples housed in archives yield 3 genomes for the influenza A virus that caused 1918 global pandemic. The sequences reveal mutations that might have triggered the pandemic’s devastating 2nd wave.

Experts say the country’s strong scientific performance is likely to be sustained in the coming years.

  Infections by the viruses that cause Zika and Dengue fever alter how their hosts smell, making them more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes . The study also identified a potential way to block the scent, using the acne medication, isotretinoin which is also known as Accutane . The smell is linked to high levels of acetophenone.