One of the holy grails of modern medicine is the development of a vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDs. An obstacle to attaining this goal has been the difficulty in stimulating the immune system to make it produce the right kinds of antibodies. A recent finding in Science ...
BCRs (antibodies) and TCRs (T cell receptors) are the recognition molecules of our immune system; the molecules they bind are called antigens. BCRs and TCRs are similar in many ways, but their differences form the core of how self and non-self are recognized.
SARS-CoV-2 remains a relevant topic for bio database development. According the the NAR database compendium, and our research, at least 25 SARS-CoV-2 data resources are available to the public. Their Immunoprofiling: How it works specialized topics include immunology, genomics, RNA, proteins, drugs, and SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 literature. This post explores the CoV-AbDab database as a resource for studying how antibodies neutralize the virus to protect against serious disease.
Lately I’ve been thinking about immunology, and not just because it is flu season, it is because Digital World Biology (DWB) is collaborating with Shoreline Community College to design a five-week bioinformatics course that will be component of their one year immuno-biotechnology certificate (1).
A long-sought goal in genetics has been to develop therapies that can use correctly functioning genes to replace genes with defects. If we had the technology to predictably modify our genomes, we would have the ability to cure many diseases instead of having to place people on medications for their ...
Bioinformatics is full of unexpected adventures. Some are related to data discoveries, but many more are related to navigating the maize of software needed to implement a solution.
DNA sequencing-based immunoprofiling quantitatively measures AR diversity in samples by determining the sequences of V(D)J junctions. AR receptor diversity is vast due to a combinatorial rearrangement process that inserts a variable number of random DNA bases at each junction. In the sequencing process V(D)J junctions are amplified with V and J gene specific primers and, to be quantitative, differences in amplification rates that are due to primer sequences must be factored into each assay.
Immuno-bioinformatics is a fast growing subdiscipline of immuno-biotechnology. New technologies like immune-profiling and targeted cancer therapies are leading to job growth and demands for new skills and knowledge in biomanufacturing, quality systems, informatics, and cancer biology.
Last week, while attending the ISB " DNA of Innovation" symposium in honor of Lee Hood's 70th birthday, I decided to try live-blogging for the first time. Unbeknownst to others in the audience, except my husband, I quietly typed away, collecting notes and uploading impressions. But battery power has its ...
Every year people adopt pet dogs, cats, birds, and other creatures and take them to their local veterinarians for all the usual vaccinations and exams. The usual vaccinations protect your pets from diseases like rabies, distemper, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, and Feline Leukemia. But it's not just pets that get protected ...
It's déjà vu all over again. The first chapter in Arthur Allen's book " Vaccine" describes the history of smallpox vaccination in the United States. In 1721, in Boston, the prevailing belief was that to get vaccinated was to intervene with "divine providence." If you tried to protect yourself, it ...
Like many people I know, I suffer from allergies, and sometimes asthma. I take drugs to control the symptoms, but they don't cure the condition. Plus, I know there can be side effects that might not be so pleasant. This is why I like hearing about sequencing projects that target ...
In 1925, dog sledders raced through the frozen Alaskan bush to bring antiserum to the isolated village of Nome. The antiserum arrived in time, saved the lives of many villagers from the horrors of diphtheria, and inspired the Iditarod, a famous race in celebration of the dog sledders' heroic feat. West Africa could use a similar effort today.
In 1925, dogsledders raced through the frozen Alaskan bush to bring antiserum to the isolated village of Nome. The antiserum arrived in time, saved the lives of many villagers from the horrors of diphtheria, and inspired the Iditarod, a famous race in celebration of the dog sledders' heroic feat. West ...
In early April 2019, the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB, Settle WA) hosted its 18th annual symposium. This year's theme focused on translational biology, which is the practice of commercializing research discovery. Over the two-day symposium, the audience was informed about the latest in the research and development of new ...
What happens when a group of streptococci stick to cells in your throat and start to make toxins? Your body fights back by making clones. The animated video, Fighting Infection by Clonal Selection, from Etsuko Uno and Drew Berry is so good that if I didn't know better, I would ...
Immuno-biotechnology an important field of biotechnology. With the advent of advanced DNA sequencing, and other technologies, immuno-biotechnology has significantly increased the use of computing technologies to decipher the meaning of large datasets and predict interactions between immune receptors (antibodies / T-Cell receptors / MHC) and their targets. Progress toward developing an immuno-bioinformatics course with Shoreline Community College is summarized in the attached presentation.
A long time ago, I saw a movie called " The Other Side of the Mountain." The movie told the story of Jill Kinmont, a ski racer who contracted polio and lost the use of her legs. I was sad for days for afterward, but also relieved to know that ...
Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to respond to a specific thing. Most of the vaccines we use are designed to prime the immune system so that it's ready to fight off some kind of disease, like whooping cough, polio, or influenza. Some vaccines can have more specialized functions ...
Immunoprofiling is the quantitative measurement of antigen receptors (ARs; antibodies or T-cell receptors) in a sample and is a hot area in biotechnology. Immunoprofiling is used to assess the diversity of antigen receptors (ARs: antibodies and T-Cell receptors) and how this diversity changes in response to allergens, infections, or vaccines. In cancer therapy, Immunoprofiling is used to develop biomarkers and understand how an individual’s immune cells fight tumors, and predict individuals' response to immunotherapy.
