Measles and Immunosuppression—When Getting Well Means You Can Still Get Sick

Posted on by Kelly Grooms
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In 2000 measles was officially declared eliminated in the United States (1), meaning there had been no disease transmission for over 12 months. Unfortunately, recent years have shown us it was not gone for good. So far in 2025 there have been 6 outbreaks and 607 cases. Five hundred and sixty-seven of these cases (93%) are associated with an outbreak; seventy-four (12%) cases have resulted in hospitalization, and there has been one confirmed death, with another death under investigation (as of April 3, 2025; 2).  For comparison, there were two hundred and eighty-five total cases in 2024; one hundred and ninety-eight (69%) were associated with outbreaks; one hundred and fourteen (40%) cases resulted in hospitalization. There were no deaths (2).  

Help in Limiting a Dangerous Childhood Disease

Before the development of a vaccine in the 1960s, measles was practically a childhood rite of passage. This common childhood disease is not without teeth however. One out of every 20 children with measles develops pneumonia, 1 out of every 1,000 develops encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and 1 to 3 of every 1,000 dies from respiratory and neurological complications (3). In the years before a vaccine was available, it is estimated that there were between 3.5 and 5 million measles cases per year. (4). The first measles vaccine was licensed in the U.S. by John Enders in 1963, and not surprisingly, after the measles vaccine became widely used, the number of cases of measles plummeted. By 1970, there were under 1,000 cases (2).

Decreased Childhood Mortality from Other Infectious Diseases—An Unexpected Benefit

Surprisingly, with the disappearance of this childhood disease the number of childhood deaths from all infectious diseases dropped dramatically. As vaccination programs were instituted in England and parts of Europe, the same phenomenon was observed. Reduction or elimination of measles-related illness and death alone can’t explain the size of the decrease in childhood mortality. Although measles infection is associated with suppression of the immune system that will make the host vulnerable to other infections, these side effects were assumed to be short lived. In reality, the drop in mortality from infectious diseases following vaccination for measles lasted for years, not months (5).

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What 32,000 3D Spheroids Revealed About Culture Conditions

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann
3D Spheroid Cell Culture

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems have become essential tools in cancer research, drug screening and tissue engineering—offering a more physiologically relevant alternative to traditional 2D cultures, which often fail to replicate key in vivo microenvironment features. But as the field has evolved, variability in experimental outcomes has become a key challenge, limiting their reproducibility and translation into clinical settings. While spheroids offer layered architecture, nutrient gradients and multicellular interactions, inconsistent culture methods have made it difficult to draw reliable conclusions across labs.

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The Long Road to a Norovirus Vaccine: How Close Are We?

Posted on by Sara Millevolte

This winter, norovirus outbreaks surged across the U.S., with cases nearly doubling from last year, according to the CDC. Schools, cruise ships, nursing homes and healthcare facilities saw widespread illness, underscoring the urgent need for a norovirus vaccine.

Each year, norovirus causes 685 million infections worldwide and is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., responsible for 21 million cases annually. Despite its massive impact, there is still no approved vaccine—but recent advancements suggest that this could change.

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One Health and H5N1: Promega’s Commitment to Holistic Solutions

Posted on by Promega

The global outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) underscores the critical importance of proactive and integrated health strategies. With its zoonotic potential, the H5N1 virus affects diverse animal populations and poses significant risks to human health, ecosystems, and economies worldwide. At Promega, we are dedicated to equipping researchers and public health professionals with the tools they need to navigate and address these complex challenges.

Understanding H5N1 and Its Impact

A Global Challenge

The H5N1 outbreak has led to the depopulation of over 300 million birds across 108 countries, spanning five continents. The virus has infected over 500 bird species and at least 70 mammalian species, including endangered California condors and polar bears (1). The virus has had significant economic repercussions, particularly in the poultry industry, with 168 million birds culled in the United States to date (2). Recent human infections, primarily among farm workers, highlight the need for continued vigilance and robust surveillance systems.

The One Health initiative takes a holistic approach to managing disease outbreaks such as bird flu.
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Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Modeling: A Novel iPSC-Based Luminescence System for Parkinson’s Disease Research

Posted on by Amy Landreman

Advancing our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases requires model systems that faithfully recapitulate the biology of human neurons. A recent study by Gandy et al. in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences introduces an innovative luminescence-based platform to explore the role of Parkinson’s disease (PD)-associated genes in living cells. By leveraging human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and CRISPR-mediated endogenous tagging, researchers at the Early Drug Discovery Unit at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) at McGill University and Health Canada have created a powerful system for investigating protein expression and function in a physiologically relevant setting.

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Bringing Science to Life: How Art and Sustainability Shape Our New Trade Show Booth Design

Posted on by Riley Bell

Step inside a Promega booth and leave the ordinary behind. Here, science sparks creativity, sustainability is woven into every detail, and discovery isn’t just something you see—it’s something you feel.

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An Unexpected Role for RNA Methylation in Mitosis Leads to New Understanding of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Posted on by Michele Arduengo

Traditionally, RNA methylation has been studied in the context of gene expression regulation, RNA stability and translation efficiency, with its primary role thought to be in modulating cellular homeostasis and protein synthesis. However, a 2025 study by Dharmadkikari and colleagues uncovers an unexpected and critical function for RNA methylation in mitotic spindle integrity.

False color transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrograph of a mitotic cell in metaphase stage showing chromosomes (purple) in the equatorial plane and one of the mitotic spindle poles (blue). Mutations in SPOUT1/CENP-32 affect RNA methylation which is necessary for proper cell division.
False color transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrograph of a mitotic cell in metaphase stage showing chromosomes (purple) in the equatorial plane and one of the mitotic spindle poles (blue).

The study identifies a critical role for SPOUT1/CENP-32-dependent methylation in mitotic spindle formation and accurate chromosome segregation. Originally identified in a large-scale analysis of proteins associated with mitotic chromosomes, SPOUT1/CENP-32 encodes a putative RNA methyltransferase. The protein localizes to mitotic spindles, and when it is absent centrosome detachment from the spindle poles, delayed anaphase, and chromosome segregation errors are observed. Further, CRISPR experiments in human cells show that the protein is essential for cell viability.

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Microfluidic Organoids Could Revolutionize Breast Cancer Treatment

Posted on by Johanna Lee

Breast cancer is the most common tumor among women worldwide and has a profound impact on individuals and society. Aside from being a leading cause of cancer-related death, patients often undergo invasive treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, which may result in long-term side effects and reduced quality of life. Additionally, the healthcare burden of breast cancer is immense. This makes effective, timely, and personalized treatments a critical need.

A recent study published in Scientific Reports presents a microfluidic-based method for growing breast cancer organoids that significantly reduces the culture time while maintaining essential structural and drug response characteristics. This method could be the key to developing personalized breast cancer treatments in the future.

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Can Fungi Help Clean Up Environmental Contaminants? 

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann
Fly agaric or Fly amanita (Amanita muscaria) is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants found in industrial waste, fossil fuel combustion and creosote-treated wood, to name a few. Due to these industrial activities, there are multiple pathways for human exposure. These compounds pose significant health risks due to their carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic properties yet removing them from contaminated sites remains a challenge. Traditional remediation techniques, such as dredging and chemical treatment, are costly and can further disrupt ecosystems (1).  

Mycoremediation—using fungi to break down pollutants into intermediates with lower environmental burden—offers a sustainable, low-cost alternative for PAH degradation. While past research focused on basidiomycete fungi like white rot fungi, these have been unreliable in large-scale field applications. This study investigates an alternative approach: leveraging naturally occurring ascomycete fungi from creosote-contaminated sediments to enhance PAH degradation (1). 

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No More Dead Ends: Improving Legionella Testing with Viability qPCR

Posted on by Anna Bennett
Image of cooling towers.

Legionella is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia with a mortality rate of around 10%​. Contaminated water systems, including cooling towers and hot water systems, serve as primary reservoirs for this opportunistic pathogen. Traditional plate culture methods remain the regulatory standard for monitoring Legionella, but these methods are slow—often requiring 7–10 days for results—and suffer from overgrowth by non-Legionella bacteria​. Additionally, traditional methods fail to detect viable but non-culturable (VBNC) bacteria—cells that remain infectious but do not grow on standard culture media. 

Molecular methods like PCR-based detection provide faster and more sensitive Legionella identification. However, a key limitation persists: PCR detects DNA from both live and dead bacteria, leading to false positives and unnecessary or even wasteful remediation efforts​. To address this challenge, Promega has developed a viability qPCR method that retains the speed of molecular testing while distinguishing viable bacteria from non-viable remnants. In this third blog in our Legionella blog series, we cover how molecular detection methods can be refined to provide actionable results for Legionella monitoring. 

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