Specific examples of NIAID influenza basic research include: Trying to determine if hyperimmune plasma – the liquid component of blood that contains antibodies to help to clear the virus from the body – is an effective treatment against influenza, specifically for patients at high risk for developing severe disease.
Full Answer
Why is animal research important in Ebola research?
Because Ebola evolved from primate viruses, animal research is essential to the study of disease. Ebola is a leading cause of death in wild chimpanzees and gorillas, so the role of non-human primates in developing a vaccine cannot be overstated.
What is the public sector’s role in drug discovery?
However, the boundaries between the roles of the public and private sectors have shifted substantially since the dawn of the biotechnology era, and the public sector now has a much more direct role in the applied-research phase of drug discovery.
What type of virus causes the flu?
Influenza A virus is the group that most commonly causes illness in humans and is the source of all of the major influenza pandemics in modern history. This type can drift and shift through birds and animals, meaning it emerges with rearranged surface proteins that create different strains of the virus.
What are the surface proteins of the influenza virus called?
The surface proteins that combine in different ways to create an assortment of influenza virus type A strains are called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Hemagglutinin enables the flu virus to enter a human cell and initiate infection; neuraminidase allows newly formed flu viruses to exit the host cell and multiply throughout the body.
What scientist discovered the flu?
This drove many researchers to investigate and study influenza, searching for its cause and cure. A major breakthrough came in the early 1930s, when a young physician from Iowa, Richard Shope, turned his attention to swine influenza.
What type of research might scientists be doing to prevent and treat flu?
A potential vaccine that could work for every type of flu That's exactly what researchers at Janssen—with support from BARDA—are attempting to do. For instance, they've designed molecules, called mini-HA antigens, containing parts of the flu virus that occur across a wide variety of viruses.
When was the cure for the flu discovered?
1940s. 1940s: Thomas Francis, Jr., MD and Jonas Salk, MD serve as lead researchers at the University of Michigan to develop the first inactivated flu vaccine with support from the U.S. Army. Their vaccine uses fertilized chicken eggs in a method that is still used to produce most flu vaccines today.
How has the flu been treated?
Currently, there are three antiviral drugs recommended for treating the flu: oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), zanamivir (Relenza®), and peramivir (Rapivab®). These drugs work by interrupting the function of neuraminidase on the virus surface and preventing the release of viral particles from infected host cells.
What is the science behind the influenza vaccine?
How does the flu shot work? “The vaccine works by introducing a small protein from the virus into your body. This causes your body to produce antibodies to fight the disease and creates some degree of immunity in case you're faced with the real virus later,” explains Dr.
What technology has improved flu vaccines?
Recombinant vaccines Recombinant influenza vaccines are produced using recombinant technology that does not require egg-grown vaccine virus. Flublok, manufactured by Sanofi, is currently the only FDA-approved recombinant vaccine.
What ended the 1918 flu pandemic?
February 1918 – April 1920Spanish flu / Period
How fast was the flu vaccine developed?
But it wasn't until 1945 - nearly three decades later - that the first flu vaccine was licensed for civilian use in the U.S. In contrast, an effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine was developed in less than a year. Historically, vaccines have taken years to make it to distribution.
What's the deadliest pandemic in history?
1918 flu: 50-100 million (1918-1920)
Can the flu be cured?
Can flu be treated? Yes. There are prescription medications called “antiviral drugs” that can be used to treat flu illness.
How is flu 2022 treated?
For the 2021-2022 flu season, CDC recommends the use of four FDA-approved antiviral drugs to treat flu: oseltamivir phosphate, zanamivir, peramivir, and baloxavir marboxil. Indications for each can vary by age. Only one antiviral drug (oral oseltamivir) is recommended for use in pregnant women.
How do you cure the flu quickly?
These remedies might help you feel better:Stay hydrated. Water, juice, clear broth or warm lemon water with honey helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration. ... Rest. Your body needs rest to heal.Soothe a sore throat. ... Combat stuffiness. ... Relieve pain. ... Sip warm liquids. ... Try honey. ... Add moisture to the air.More items...
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What diseases require research?
Diseases such as cancer, depression, diabetes or other neurological disorders require research to be carried out at the cellular and molecular level to discover new therapy treatments. Research outcomes can be variable and unexpected. However, they can lead to innovative approaches and disruptive methods for treatments. By studying micro-organisms like bacteria, fungi and different parasites which cause diseases, biomedical scientists can create antibiotic treatments to destroy them.
Why do biomedical scientists study tissue samples?
Biomedical scientists study tissue samples to establish the cause of various illnesses. The samples can be taken during surgery or post-mortem. Cancer and other diseases are diagnosed by checking for abnormal developments in the tissues’ structure. Biomedical scientists use specialized techniques in screening cervical smears to investigate ...
What is the role of biomedical scientists?
They work in laboratories diagnosing diseases and testing the effectiveness of various treatments by studying tissue and fluids samples from patients
What are the medical conditions that are subject to biomedical research and testing?
Medical conditions such as cancer, anemia, diabetes, heart physiology and other emerging diseases are subject to rigorous biomedical science research and testing. Through investigations and experiments on human tissue and fluid samples, carried out in high-tech laboratories, biomedical scientists collect helpful data and statistics.
How can biomedical research help the public?
By studying micro-organisms like bacteria, fungi and different parasites which cause diseases, biomedical scientists can create antibiotic treatments to destroy them. Biomedical research performed in the public sector has a great impact on public intervention outcomes.
How do biomedical scientists help humans?
Biomedical scientists have an important role and great impact on human health through the various and detailed investigations they perform . Biomedical scientists can find ways to increase human longevity and various prevention methods against dangerous diseases.
What are the two proteins that combine to create the influenza virus?
The surface proteins that combine in different ways to create an assortment of influenza virus type A strains are called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA).
What are some questions about influenza?
Some of the specific questions about influenza that basic science researchers explore include how strains of viruses differ from each other by gene structure; how viruses can defeat the immune system to cause disease; how some viruses can transmit from person to person; and how some treatments and vaccines effectively prevent or minimize infection. ...
What are some examples of NIAID research?
Specific examples of NIAID influenza basic research include: Trying to determine if hyperimmune plasma – the liquid component of blood that contains antibodies to help to clear the virus from the body – is an effective treatment against influenza, specifically for patients at high risk for developing severe disease.
Why is influenza research so challenging?
Influenza is challenging for scientists to study because there are hundreds of strains that are classified into four main categories: A through D, though D is not known to infect people.
When did scientists start sequencing H1N1?
After successfully sequencing the 1918 H1N1 virus in 2005, scientists are now working on the same project for influenza A viruses that circulated in the decade before and after 1918.
Does estrogen affect the ability of the influenza virus to replicate in nasal cells?
Researchers showed how estrogen affects the ability of the influenza virus to replicate in nasal cells and why the antiviral effect is more robust in women. The results suggest that pre-menopausal or post-menopausal women who do not produce estrogen could benefit from hormone replacement during influenza season.
What is the role of mice in cancer?
Continuing to play a role in improving current therapies, but also in newly developing therapies, mice remain a vital part of cancer research.
What is the science behind cholesterol lowering drugs?
The science of cholesterol lowering drugs is grounded in animal research ; the second and the nineteenth most prescribed drugs in America, Crestor and Zetia, were tested both on mice, dogs, and rats, and Zetia was also developed with rabbits and monkeys.
What did cows do to help the world?
Research in cows helped create the world’s first vaccine, which in turn helped end smallpox. Studies with monkeys, dogs, and mice led to the polio vaccine. Drugs used to combat cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, hepatitis, and malaria would not have been possible without research with primates.
How many people are living with diabetes?
Thanks to the contributions of animal research CF treatments have vastly improved, allowing CF patients to live happy lives into late adulthood, and with continued research a cure is possible. 415 million people worldwide are living with diabetes, affecting 29 million Americans.
How many Rottweilers are affected by cancer?
With one in eight Rottweilers affected by cancer, The Rottweiler Health Foundation is a major supporter of canine cancer research, and immunotherapy is one that has proved successful.
What is the second major research faction?
Hemoglobin-based products are the second major research faction. One group of researchers have encased hemoglobin in a synthetic polymer. Using rabbits, they are studying the reaction of the aorta to new red blood cells to ensure an identical reaction when their artificial blood is added to the body.
How many people are affected by Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s affects an estimated 44 million people and their families.
What is the best treatment for Ebola?
Today, the best treatment for Ebola is still a pair of “monoclonal antibodies,” individual antibodies isolated from convalescent plasma and then cloned artificially in a lab. READ MORE: The Most Harrowing Battle of the Korean War.
How is antivenom made?
Antivenom is made by injecting small amounts of snake venom into horses and allowing the horse’s immune system to produce antibodies that neutralize the poison. Those equine antibodies are isolated, purified and distributed to hospitals as antivenom.
When did doctors first try injecting blood plasma?
Before Vaccines, Doctors ‘Borrowed’ Antibodies from Recovered Patients to Save Lives. Doctors first tried injecting patients with blood plasma in the early 1900s. The method has been used against diphtheria, the 1918 flu pandemic, measles and Ebola. Author:
When did Gallagher use plasma?
In the 1930s, doctors like Gallagher used convalescent plasma effectively against measles.
Does plasma interact with the immune system?
Convalescent plasma interacts differently with the immune system than a vaccine. When a person is treated with a vaccine, their immune system actively produces its own antibodies that will kill off any future encounters with the target pathogen. That’s called active immunity.
Who was the doctor who tried to stave off the measles outbreak?
In 1934, a doctor at a private boy’s school in Pennsylvania tried a unique method to stave off a potentially deadly measles outbreak. Dr. J. Roswell Gallagher extracted blood serum from a student who had recently recovered from a serious measles infection and began injecting the plasma into 62 other boys who were at high risk of catching the disease.
Who was the first person to win the Nobel Prize for Physiology?
In fact, the very first Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded in 1901 to Emil von Behring for his life-saving work developing a cure for diphtheria, a bacterial infection that was particularly fatal in children.