Immune System, features and articles | Educational Science

May 30, 2013

Preemies' Immune Systems Get a Boost from Massage

Gently massaging premature babies may boost their immune system, a new study suggests. The results show premature babies who were massaged had immune cells with increased killing ability compared to those who were not massaged. In addition, babies who were massaged gained more weight daily, and weighed more at the...

May 30, 2013

Immune System Strength at Birth Linked to Quantity of Baby's Colds

The number of colds babies have in their first year of life can range from none to 10, a new study finds. And the quantity of colds was linked to the innate strength of the babies’ immune systems at birth. The science of it is complex, but in a nutshell,...

May 30, 2013

Deceased Nobel Laureate Still Gets Prize

The Nobel Prize committee is not changing its decision to award the 2011 prize in medicine to a recipient who died days before the announcement was made, the committee said. This morning (Oct. 3), three researchers, Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffmann, and Dr. Ralph Steinman, received the prize for work that...

Jun 5, 2013

New MS Treatment 'Tricks' Immune System

An experimental treatment that involves injecting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with their own white blood cells has been shown to be safe, according to a new study. The study also provided some evidence that the treatment was effective in modifying the immune system. MS arises when a person's immune system...

Jul 3, 2013

Strange Condition Causes 'Frostbite' At 50 Degrees

A woman in Germany developed what looked like frostbite on her nose, ears and legs, even though she had not been exposed to extremely cold temperatures, according to a new report of her case. Her skin developed black regions, made up of damaged skin tissue, which appeared over several days....

Oct 25, 2013

11 Surprising Facts About the Immune System

Surprise! (Image credit: Luk Cox | Dreamstime)The human immune system is our protector — its job is to defend the body against diseases and other damaging foreign bodies. The system works by first identifying alien bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites lurking in the body, and then sends in its troops...

Jan 2, 2014

Is There A Cure for Psoriasis?

The Healthy Geezer answers questions about health and aging in his weekly column. Question: Is there any cure for psoriasis? There's no cure for psoriasis yet, but there are many ways to get relief from the symptoms of this troublesome disease. Psoriasis is one of the most common skin ailments....

May 5, 2014

Cold-Water Swims and Controlled Breathing May Dampen Inflammation

People might be able to influence their immune systems by practicing certain breathing techniques in combination with spending time in low temperatures, a new study finds. In the study, men who participated in a regimen of deep breathing and swimming in ice-cold water showed a less inflammatory response than men...

Aug 17, 2014

Drug Could Regrow Hair in Some with Hair Loss

Most hair-loss drugs currently available may stop hair loss, but don't cause hair to regrow. Now, new research suggests that a drug already used to treat people with other conditions could restore hair growth in patients with one disease that can cause hair loss. In a small new study, three...

Aug 26, 2014

'Stiff Person Syndrome' Treated by Stem Cell Transplant

People with a rare disease called stiff person syndrome, or SPS, might benefit from a type of stem cell transplant that has been used to treat patients with leukemia and multiple sclerosis, researchers say. SPS is a neurological condition that causes people to suffer from periodic muscle stiffness and spasms...

Jan 12, 2015

Animating a Cell’s Inner Life

Animations like this one, which shows HIV infecting a human cell, are helping researchers probe complicated, dynamic molecular interactions. “In the HIV life cycle, there are a number of events that aren’t really well understood, and people have different ideas of how things happen,” says Janet Iwasa, who made this...

Feb 26, 2015

Daily Coffee Could Lower Your MS Risk

Drinking upward of four cups of coffee a day may lower the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating disease that affects the nervous system, researchers say. The finding isn't without its caveats, and the scientists said they do not recommend that anyone at risk for developing MS go...

Jun 18, 2015

Illegal Silicone Butt Injections Cause Host of Health Problems

In the hopes of achieving fuller buttocks, some women opt to get illegal injections of silicone that can cause a host of health complications. Problems range from tissue hardening and pain to infections, breathing problems and even life-threatening blood clots. It's not clear whether the number of people getting these...

Sep 27, 2016

6 Strange Facts About Leprosy

6 Strange Facts About Leprosy This x-ray of the hands of someone with leprosy was taken in Thailand. The disease causes deformities and contractures, seen here. (Image credit: National Museum of Health and Medicine/Contributed by Major Buker O.S.G. [Office of the Surgeon General])Leprosy may conjure up images of lost limbs...

Dec 2, 2016

In Rare Disorder, Woman's Immune System Attacks Her Own Brain

A young woman's weeklong bout of strange behavior was caused by a rare disease in which the immune system attacks the brain, according to a new report of the woman's case. The 27-year-old woman went to the emergency room in Colorado after a week of feeling ill. She had began...