Innovations in Immunity

The vaccine business is huge and pretty slow-moving, like most big institutions. Terror threats have made some people pessimistic about our ability to protect ourselves. But now researchers have discovered an innovative approach that targets a different part of our immune system. Of course these mavericks will now have to get funding...

Houston Chronicle: Houston lab may revolutionize disease treatment. 2007-Dec-3, by Eric Berger

Conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the experiments demonstrated a concept that could revolutionize the way public health planners approach outbreaks of infectious disease. The aerosol — a purified extract of a common bacterium — stimulates the lungs to vigorously reject pathogens. ...Unlike vaccines, which must typically be given a week or more before exposure, the new aerosol is highly effective against a host of pathogens — including anthrax, influenza and even bubonic plague — if given just a few hours before infection. .... "Our idea was, why not strengthen the immune system in the body's lungs," said Dr. Burton Dickey, chair of pulmonary medicine at M.D. Anderson and a leader of the research.