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Scripps Research Institute awarded $51M contract
(North County Times (Escondido, CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 31--LA JOLLA -- The Scripps Research Institute said last week that it has received a $51 million contract from the National Institutes of Health.
Under the five-year contract, Scripps is to study immune responses to certain microbes, including the influenza virus. The goal is to improve vaccines and other immune drugs that can work against a wide range of diseases.
Scripps' contract funds research into the two kinds of immune systems that protect humans. The goal is to get a deeper understanding of how they work together.
One is the so-called "innate immune system," one of two types of immune responses to infection found in animals. This consists of various cells and chemicals that provide a generalized defense against infection.
The second is the "adaptive immune system" found in vertebrates, including humans. It is activated by the innate immune system and defeats infections the system can't handle. Specialized cells mutate randomly, producing by chance a few that are active against the infection. These cells then multiply, defeating the infection. Afterward, these cells hang around the body, ready to spring into action again if the same microbe attacks.
Three other research institutes share in the contract: The Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle; the Australian National University in Canberra; and Stanford University in Palo Alto.
The contract extends the work of a previous $24 million program to research innate immunity.
To see more of the North County Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nctimes.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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