It is known that bacterial cells exchange biological matter, but it is not clear whether bacteria can exchange functional proteins. In a recent paper published in Science on June 25, 2026, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and their collaborators investigated horizontal protein transfer between bacteria, specifically between protein-donor Escherichia coli and protein-receiving E. coli that could turn into persister cells and tolerate lethal antibiotic doses or a stressful environment.

For the second time this year, the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) canceled a scheduled meeting due to a federal judge’s stay that keeps the panel from meeting with its current membership. Typically, ACIP meets three times a year – in February, June and October. The 2026 June meeting was slated for June 23-25. Whether the adcom meets in October will be up to the courts and how far Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy digs in his heels to maintain a hand-picked committee tilted toward his view of vaccines.

RQ Biotechnology Ltd. has completed an oversubscribed $115 million (£85.5 million) series A financing to advance its long-acting antibody therapeutics for the prevention of influenza in high-risk and immunocompromised populations.

Some proteins embedded in the structure of prions may have antimicrobial activity, according to a study led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania. An AI analysis of millions of fragments from prion-related proteins has revealed more than a thousand peptides that disrupt bacterial membranes and reduce infection in animal models, suggesting these proteins could be an unexpected source of new antibiotics.

When it comes to vaccines and preparedness, platform delivery technologies can be both a boon and a barrier. On the one hand, an existing platform can speed development of a vaccine targeting an unexpected viral scare such as the recent Bundibugyo Ebola and Andes hantavirus outbreaks. On the other hand, the intellectual property (IP) protecting that platform adds to the economic hurdles facing smaller vaccine developers, Douglas Bucklin, a life sciences patent attorney with Volpe Koenig, told BioWorld.

The outbreak of hantavirus infection first reported on the MV Hondius cruise ship on May 2 is all but over, with most isolating passengers, crew members and other contacts leaving quarantine over the past week, as the 42-day incubation period drew to an end.

Molecular subtyping of disease is typically associated with cancer. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge are applying it to infections.