Health & Fitness

Biological systems can behave as siblings in several ways, including by borrowing something and never giving it back. That appears to be what the human immune system did with a protein that now helps bind and regulate the subunits that make up antibodies, according to a multi-institute research collaboration. They found that, before the immune system evolutionarily co-opted it, the protein originally belonged to gene family responsible for directing cells to move to the right location at the right time to address specific functional needs.

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Researchers have observed rapid and distinct immune system changes in a small study of people who switched to a vegan or a ketogenic (also called keto) diet. Scientists closely monitored various biological responses of people sequentially eating vegan and keto diets for two weeks, in random order. They found that the vegan diet prompted responses linked to innate immunity -- the body's non-specific first line of defense against pathogens -- while the keto diet prompted responses associated with adaptive immunity -- pathogen-specific immunity built through exposures in daily life and vaccination. Metabolic changes and shifts in the participants' microbiomes -- communities of bacteria living in the gut -- were also observed.

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The composition of microbiota found in the gut influences how susceptible mice are to respiratory virus infections and the severity of these infections.

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A new study may change the way clinicians and scientists understand, diagnose and treat placenta accreta spectrum disorder, a serious condition in which the placenta fails to separate from the uterus at birth, jeopardizing the life and health of both mother and baby.

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