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Opinion: The next frontier in biomedicine: AI models of the human immune system

STAT

If the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us one thing, it is how little we really know about how the human immune system works. Decoding and harnessing the power of the human immune system is one of the great frontiers of biomedicine.

Immunity 350
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Could long Covid’s signs of immune dysregulation in the blood lead to a diagnostic test?

STAT

New research published Thursday in Science has identified proteins present in the blood of people with long Covid that could point the way to a much-needed diagnostic test and possibly to future therapeutic targets.

Immunity 363
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Pandemic-related immunity gap in kids explains surge of respiratory infections in children in China, says WHO

STAT

The evidence presented to the WHO team pointed to what’s sometimes called an immunity gap that was created by the pandemic. But a rapidly organized meeting Thursday between the World Health Organization and health officials in China assuaged much of that concern.

Immunity 364
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RSV vaccines may be linked to small increased risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, data suggest

STAT

At a meeting Thursday of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, vaccine safety experts from the two agencies presented data that showed what appears to be an elevated rate of GBS, as the condition is called, among people who got the Pfizer vaccine, although there were also cases detected among people who got the GSK product.

Vaccines 359
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STAT+: Cancer vaccines gain momentum, after years of disappointing results

STAT

But as researchers from different companies and academic institutions presented promising early data at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego this week, experts said there’s a collective feeling of turning a corner. SAN DIEGO — Cancer vaccines have traveled a potholed road over the last decade.

Vaccines 363
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Flu vaccine offering decent levels of protection this winter, new data show

STAT

The vaccine effectiveness estimates, which showed unusually robust protection of children against influenza B viruses but more modest protection of people aged 65 and older against influenza A viruses, were presented Wednesday at a meeting of the CDC’s expert vaccine panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Vaccines 297
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STAT+: Dreams of cancer vaccines are becoming more real. Here are 9 scientists making it happen 

STAT

But many other modes of immunotherapy for cancer were approved first — checkpoint blockade drugs like Keytruda and engineered immune cell therapies like Yescarta. Cancer vaccines may also be able to help train the immune system to recognize and kill cancers related to viruses like HPV.

Vaccines 362