150 research primates got diarrhea, flooding lab with priceless vaccine data
Brownish silver lining
Researchers now have clear new targets and insights for developing a Shigella vaccine.
A medical illustration depicts drug-resistant Shigella sp bacteria. Credit: Getty | CDC
Having more than 150 non-human primates at a research center fall ill with diarrhea in a stomach-churning outbreak that flowed for over two years doesn’t sound much like good fortune. But for some scientists, it kind of was, providing a heaping pile of valuable data on how they might finally defeat a foul foe.
In a study published in the latest issue of Science Translational Medicine, scientist sifted through the dump of immunological data from the infections, logging new ways to train immune cells to defeat the bacteria behind the outbreak, a type of Shigella. Researchers were able to pluck out specific bits of the bacteria that the immune system could most effectively attack, linking specific target...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to arstechnica.com. To see the full text click HERE
