Researchers report a new method for analyzing pyroptosis — the process of cell death that is usually caused by infections and results in excess inflammation in the body — and show that the process, long thought to be irreversible once initiated, can in fact be halted and controlled. The discovery means that scientists have a new way to study diseases that are related to malfunctioning cell death processes and infections that can be complicated by out-of-control inflammation.

The dengue virus alters mosquito behaviour in a way that makes it three times more efficient at transmitting infection.

Fibrosis, or scarring, is implicated in diseases including liver cirrhosis, lung fibrosis, heart disease and chronic kidney disease. Fibrosis can eventually lead to organ failure. The E4 peptide is a potent antifibrotic agent, but its mechanism of action was incompletely understood. A Medical University of South Carolina research team reports in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight that the peptide reverses fibrosis by activating an antifibrotic pathway common to all organs in the body.

A team of scientists, led by Scott Frey at the University of Missouri, have developed an innovative technique using small wearable sensors to gather data on how people — who have suffered from a traumatic hand amputation — use a prosthesis versus a transplanted hand in everyday life. So far, the data shows people with a transplanted hand demonstrate a more balanced use of their hands than those who use a prothesis.