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Research

A 'Black Out Rage Gallon' (borg) is a customised, individual alcoholic beverage popularised on TikTok, whereby half the water in a gallon jug is replaced with alcohol (usually spirits), flavourings, electrolytes and caffeine. We investigated the characteristics and portrayal of the emerging alcohol trend associated with the hashtag descriptor #borg on TikTok.

Research

The clinical development of novel vaccines, injectable therapeutics, and oral chemoprevention drugs has the potential to deliver significant advancements in the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. These innovations could support regions in accelerating malaria control, transforming existing intervention packages by supplementing interventions with imperfect effectiveness or offering an entirely new tool.

Research

Knowledge gaps regarding human immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes have impeded vaccine development. To address these gaps and evaluate vaccine candidates, we established a human challenge model of S. pyogenes pharyngitis. Here, we analyse antibody responses in serum and saliva against 19 antigens to identify characteristics distinguishing 19 participants who developed pharyngitis and 6 who did not.

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Human milk is rich in immuno-modulatory factors that have the potential to shape immune development and influence allergy risk in children. In this article, we describe how breast milk may contribute to making the infant less prone to developing allergies.

Research

The Gender and IMmunity study (GIM) aims to evaluate how gender-affirming hormone therapy impacts the immune system in young trans individuals, and how this translates to short and long-term health outcomes.

Research

Genomic sequencing in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients often discovers novel genetic variants, which are classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Functional analysis of each VUS is required in specialised laboratories, to determine whether the VUS is disease causative or not, leading to lengthy diagnostic delays.

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Australians who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) and receive income support span a wide spectrum of working ages. Australian research has concentrated on NEETs aged 15-29 years, in line with international standards. This paper investigates extending the NEET concept to include all working age persons 15-64 years and the value added to welfare policy through analysis of a new linked dataset.

Research

Both tumour suppressive and oncogenic functions have been reported for dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A). Herein, we performed a detailed investigation to delineate the role of DYRK1A in glioblastoma. Our phosphoproteomic and mechanistic studies show that DYRK1A induces degradation of cyclin B by phosphorylating CDC23, which is necessary for the function of the anaphase-promoting complex, a ubiquitin ligase that degrades mitotic proteins.

Research

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL; Leishmania donovani) cases produce interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor in response to soluble leishmanial antigen in whole-blood assays. Using transcriptional profiling, we demonstrate the impact of interleukin-10, a cytokine implicated in VL, on this response.

Research

The gut microbiome is a well-recognized modulator of host immunity, and its compositions differ between geographically separated human populations. Systemic innate immune responses to microbial derivatives also differ between geographically distinct human populations. However, the potential role of the microbiome in mediating geographically varied immune responses is unexplored. We here applied 16S amplicon sequencing to profile the stool microbiome and, in parallel, measured whole-blood innate immune cytokine responses to several pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonists among 2-year-old children across biogeographically diverse settings. Microbiomes differed mainly between high- and low-resource environments and were not strongly associated with other demographic factors. We found strong correlations between responses to Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and relative abundances of Bacteroides and Prevotella populations, shared among Canadian and Ecuadorean children.