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Three covid rapid antigen tests displaying (left to right) invalid, positive, and negative results.
What Does a Positive Covid Test Look Like?
Lateral flow tests for COVID-19 can be very accurate and specific when used as directed, but introducing acidic fluids can cause the tests’ detecting antibodies to clump, which may read as a positive result.
What Does a Positive Covid Test Look Like?
What Does a Positive Covid Test Look Like?

Lateral flow tests for COVID-19 can be very accurate and specific when used as directed, but introducing acidic fluids can cause the tests’ detecting antibodies to clump, which may read as a positive result.

Lateral flow tests for COVID-19 can be very accurate and specific when used as directed, but introducing acidic fluids can cause the tests’ detecting antibodies to clump, which may read as a positive result.

infectious disease

Salmonella living within macrophages can survive antibiotic treatment and potentially give rise to resistance by two different mechanisms that slow or arrest their growth.
Slow Bacterial Growth Enables Antibiotic Resistance
Niki Spahich, PhD | Aug 26, 2024 | 3 min read
In Salmonella, two seemingly similar antibiotic survival strategies result from very different molecular mechanisms.
Murine cells stained pink and purple.
Learning About Pain from a Master Manipulator
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | May 1, 2024 | 2 min read
Leishmania parasites often cause puzzlingly painless lesions. Scientists are beginning to dig into the mechanisms underlying this pain-blocking effect.
An automated sampler that is collecting a sample from a sewer line.
Tracking Community Health Through Wastewater Surveillance
Charlene Lancaster, PhD | 8 min read
By monitoring disease biomarkers within wastewater, researchers gain insight into disease prevalence within communities.
Colorful 3D model of the cone-shaped HIV-1 capsid core on a black background.
HIV Engages in Mimicry to Enter the Nucleus
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Apr 16, 2024 | 5 min read
To enter the nucleus, the HIV-1 virus acts like a transport receptor, which presents new targets for antiviral therapies.
An illustration of purple-colored single domain antibodies floating in front of a black background.
Single Domain Antibodies: Small but Mighty Therapeutics
The Scientist | Mar 22, 2024 | 1 min read
Discover the benefits of VHH antibody-based therapies.
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
New Strategies in the Battle Against Infectious Diseases
The Scientist Staff | 2 min read
Learn how the latest research into viral and bacterial pathogens advances the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. 
TK
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Mar 15, 2024 | 3 min read
Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.
A close up of a tick held in a pair of forceps, with Kevin Esvelt’s face out of focus in the background.
CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Mar 15, 2024 | 10+ min read
Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.
Leveraging Stem Cells to Create Better Disease Models
Leveraging Stem Cells to Create Better Disease Models
The Scientist | 2 min read
Clive Svendsen, Meritxell Huch, Ameen Salahudeen, and Maksim Plikus will discuss the latest advances in using patient-derived stem cells to create more accurate disease models.
A Signal for T Cells to Remember
Patience Asanga | Feb 22, 2024 | 3 min read
Timely modulation of a common signaling pathway can preserve influenza memory in lung T cells.
An illustration of a small number of virus particles on a blurred background.
A New Piece in the HIV Replication Puzzle
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Feb 14, 2024 | 4 min read
A host lipid-modifying enzyme plays a key role in HIV envelope formation, viral maturation, and infectivity. 
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
What Could Cause the Next Pandemic?
The Scientist | 2 min read
Scientists prepare for the future by filling in the research gaps between zoonotic viral reservoirs, emerging viruses, and human immune defenses.
Orange rod-shaped bacteria over a red and purple background.
Macrophages Curtail Tuberculosis
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Nov 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Two autophagy genes work together to stop Mycobacterium tuberculosis dead in its tracks.
Illustration showing how this new novel nanotechnology simultaneously ‘fishes’ for multiple viruses or viral variants using different DNA nanobait that are designed to target specific viral sequences.
Fishing for Viruses With DNA Nanobait
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Sep 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Scientists developed a novel nanotechnology that simultaneously detects multiple viruses from patient samples in less than an hour.
3D medical illustration of peripheral blood cells: a lymphocyte (left) and a monocyte (right) surrounded by red blood cells.
PBMCs: Mononucleated and Multipurposed
Deanna MacNeil, PhD | 4 min read
Researchers employ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in clinical and academic applications related to the immune system and regenerative medicine.
The figure shows two waves made of DNA double helixes representing gene expression changes in the malaria parasite and its human host. These changes reveal a synchronization between parasite and host.
Malaria Parasites Sync with Hosts’ Molecular Rhythms
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Sep 1, 2023 | 2 min read
Evidence of malaria parasites aligning with their human hosts may pave the way for new antimalarial agents.
Vet giving vaccines to pigs
Antimicrobial Resistance: The Silent Pandemic
Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Jun 30, 2023 | 9 min read
Scientists continue to ring alarm bells about the risks associated with the continued misuse of antimicrobials and advocate for innovative treatments, improved surveillance, and greater public health education.
VAI
Exposed: Environmental Echoes in Health - A Special Podcast Series
The Scientist and Van Andel Institute | 2 min read
Epigenetic experts discuss how environment and diet leave lasting impressions on the human genome.
Fluorescent images of red cells showing high and low levels of infection in green
Parasite Drove Natural Selection in Amazonian Indigenous Groups
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 13, 2023 | 4 min read
The findings could help researchers understand why some individuals are more vulnerable to deadly Chagas disease.
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