A novel antibody treatment reduces deformed wing virus loads in the western honey bee ().

Unlabelled: The deformed wing virus () (DWV) is a key driver of colony loss in the western honey bee (). Here, we demonstrate that orally delivered anti-DWV antibodies can act systemically to reduce DWV loads in naturally infected honey bees. Immunoglobulin Y (IgY) was produced in adult chickens against two DWV proteins, harvested from their eggs, and fed to bees in a sucrose solution.

Got bile? Breastmilk bile acids influence norovirus infection.

Breastfeeding provides infection protection for several pathogens but not for noroviruses. Mechanisms explaining this discrepancy have been unclear. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Peiper et al.

Improving undergraduate education in immunology through assessment of interdisciplinary scientific knowledge.

The interdisciplinary nature of immunology can make studying not only engaging but also challenging, as understanding immunologic processes and immune system components requires foundational knowledge from several science disciplines. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a unique, 4-year, Undergraduate Immunology Program (UIP) that provides a comprehensive curriculum in immunology that includes five core courses starting in the second year, at which point, students are in the process of completing basic science sequences. For this study, students in courses across the UIP curriculum were asked to identify basic science topics that relate to four immunology concepts.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Team-based Learning Activities on Learning Outcomes in the Undergraduate Immunology Classroom.

Immunology is inherently interdisciplinary. Understanding how the immune system functions requires knowledge from several scientific disciplines, including molecular biology, cellular biology, genetics, and biochemistry. Furthermore, immunology is conceptually complex, requiring the identification of a plethora of immune components and mastery of a large volume of new vocabulary.

Effects of Deformed Wing Virus-Targeting dsRNA on Viral Loads in Bees Parasitised and Non-Parasitised by .

The mite is a devastating parasite of honey bees; however the negative effects of varroa parasitism are exacerbated by its role as an efficient vector of the honey bee pathogen, Deformed wing virus (DWV). While no direct treatment for DWV infection is available for beekeepers to use on their hives, RNA interference (RNAi) has been widely explored as a possible biopesticide approach for a range of pests and pathogens. This study tested the effectiveness of three DWV-specific dsRNA sequences to lower DWV loads and symptoms in honey bees reared from larvae in laboratory mini-hives containing bees and varroa.