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Research from the EARA member Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Portugal, has found new evidence to understand and fight sepsis - a life-threatening reaction to an infection.
The team found that the loss of a specific molecule - named α-Gal glycan – may explain how primates evolved to be able to prevent bacterial infections leading to sepsis.
The findings, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, revealed that, in mice, the absence of this molecule increases their ability to kill bacteria.