Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer are often treated with drugs that activate their immune system against the tumor. Until now, it was feared that vaccination against Covid-19 could reduce the success of cancer treatment or cause severe side effects. A recent study by the Universities of Bonn and Shanxi in the People's Republic of China now gives the all-clear in this regard.

Cancer cells use sugar molecules on their surface to disable attacks by the body's immune system. Researchers at the University of Basel now report on how this mechanism can be neutralized.

The immune system is actually extremely well equipped to get rid of abnormal cells.

A new study suggests that, despite the success of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, vaccine confidence has declined significantly since the start of the pandemic.

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth carried out two anonymous surveys in the winters of 2019 and 2022 to investigate people's attitudes towards vaccinations and the factors that might underpin hesitancy and refusal.

Knowing how well vaccination against one SARS-CoV-2 strain (with or without previous infection) counteracts infection with a different strain is a critical research question. The answers could guide strategies to continue to subdue the COVID pandemic, even as the coronavirus regains ground.

RNA, the molecule that gave rise to life, has been shown to be essential for repairing human genetic material and preventing mutations that might lead to developing cancer. Recent advances in research, such as those published by the research team of Daniel Gómez Cabello at the University of Seville, propose this compound as a therapeutic target for developing tailored strategies for treating cancer.

Viral DNA in human genomes, embedded there from ancient infections, serve as antivirals that protect human cells against certain present-day viruses, according to new research.

The paper, "Evolution and Antiviral Activity of a Human Protein of Retroviral Origin," published in Science, provides proof of principle of this effect.

Scientists around the world are researching how anti-cancer drugs can most efficiently reach the tumours they target. One possibility is to use modified bacteria as "ferries" to carry the drugs through the bloodstream to the tumours. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now succeeded in controlling certain bacteria so that they can effectively cross the blood vessel wall and infiltrate tumour tissue.