As COVID-19 continues to evolve, there is an urgent need for vaccines that are cheaper, easier to produce, and more effective against emerging variants of concern. This is especially important for low-income countries, which face challenges in accessing current vaccines. Peter Palese and his colleagues – Weina Sun, Adolfo García-Sastre and Florian Krammer – at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are developing innovative new COVID-19 vaccines based on the Newcastle disease virus – or ‘NDV’.

Our diet has a powerful influence on our health, and one of the most important components is protein. But not all proteins are created equal, especially when it comes to their impact on the trillions of bacteria living in our gut. These gut bacteria, which make up our microbiome, play a crucial role in digestion, immune function, and even mental health. New research by Luis A. Rubio at Zaidín Experimental Station in Spain investigates how different types of proteins affect the gut microbiome, shedding light on how our dietary choices could influence overall wellbeing.

Reovirus type 3 Dearing – or ‘Reo’ for short – is an oncolytic virus that shows potential in treating various solid tumors. An example of a solid tumor is pancreatic cancer, for which limited treatment options are currently available. Oncolytic viruses such as Reo work by infecting and killing cancer cells directly and by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack the tumor. Reo is especially promising because it can prime a tumor microenvironment to become more amenable to immunotherapy. A major obstacle to the potential success of Reo as a cancer therapy is the prevalence of neutralizing antibodies in the population.

Parasitic worms cause serious health issues in billions of people worldwide, so understanding how our bodies fight them off is crucial for developing better treatments. In a new study, Professor De’Broski Herbert and his team at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered a surprising connection between the neurons that make us itch and our body’s ability to protect itself from skin-penetrating worms. In their study, the team led by postdoctoral researcher Juan Inclan Rico, explored a subtype of sensory nerves that express a specific receptor, which can make us feel itchy in response to certain chemicals.

Meiosis is a special type of cell division that produces egg and sperm cells. This process is crucial for sexual reproduction and the continuation of species. When meiosis goes wrong within an organism, it can lead to infertility, or genetic disorders within the offspring. As such, understanding the precise mechanics of meiosis may have important implications for preventing genetic disorders in humans. Moreover, improving our understanding of this process will help clinicians identify healthy oocytes, a key obstacle when using IVF to overcome fertility problems.