How to win the war against infection, inflammation, disease and immunity

It’s a scary struggle. Forget guns, bullets, bombs and drones. Humans are entangled in a far more lethal world war than the conflicts often described in the news. The numbers and potential kill factors are frightening. Ebola is just one recent enemy amidst many. Every year, two million people develop hospital-acquired infections, for example, and existing antibiotics are often useless. The good news: When it comes to fighting the battle against infection, inflammation, disease and immunity gone haywire, there are new weapons in the research labs. Let’s talk about helminth worms, for instance, or enzymes with crab claws to unhinge bacteria, and secrets in dirt. Let’s also applaud the rapid battlefield tests being designed by New Jersey Medical School researchers. There is an overall plan taking shape with strategic headquarters at the Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Disease (I3D) on the NJMS campus in Newark. “It’s time to join forces to tackle...