Despite dramatic recent advances in treatment, colorectal cancer killed more than 49,000 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute, making it the second most lethal malignancy after cancers of the lung and bronchus.

An enzyme in macrophage immune cells may be a good target for treating chronic infections, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of life-threatening viral pneumonia in infants worldwide, yet despite repeated efforts, scientists have been unable to develop an effective vaccine against it.

New discoveries will guide efforts to develop vaccines or antiviral agents for norovirus, the most common cause of infectious diarrhea.

Increasing expression of a transcription factor called KLF2 can promote immunological self-tolerance and “tune down” autoimmunity, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported recently.

Sepsis, an exaggerated and overwhelming inflammatory response to infection, is a major worldwide killer of babies in the first four weeks of life (neonatal period).

Collybolide – a natural product isolated from a mushroom – is a promising candidate for the development of non-addictive pain medicines.