Virus News and Research

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A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only inside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of organisms: from animals and plants, to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 5,000 types of virus have been described in detail, although most types of virus remain undiscovered. Viruses are ubiquitous, as they are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, and are the most abundant type of biological entity on the planet. The study of viruses is known as virology, and is a branch of microbiology.

New Device Enables Real-Time Environmental Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosols

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses.

11 Jul 2023

Mapping Immune Microenvironments in Human Placenta

Until recently, scientific evidence on the ability of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, to replicate in the human placenta has been inconclusive.

10 Jul 2023

New Method Reveals How Hepatitis C Virus Evades Immune System

With a new method for examining virus samples researchers from the University of Copenhagen have solved an old riddle about how Hepatitis C virus avoids the human body's immune defenses.

6 Jul 2023

Ancient Virus-Like Transposons Found to Mediate Horizontal Gene Transfer in Worms

Scientists have known for decades that genes can be transferred from one species to another, both in animals and plants.

30 Jun 2023

New AI-Assisted Methods to Discover Novel Deaminase Proteins with Unique Functions

At the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, GAO Caixia’s group has introduced the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted techniques to find out novel deaminase proteins with special functions via structural prediction and classification.

28 Jun 2023

Immune Deficits in Space are Temporary

An increase in proof has been found that astronauts are highly vulnerable to infections while in space. For instance, astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) generally suffer from skin rashes, and also respiratory and non-respiratory diseases.

23 Jun 2023

Influenza A Viruses Use "Tactical Strikes" to Hijack Host Cells

Influenza A is one of two influenza viruses that fuel costly annual flu seasons and is a near constant threat to humans and many other animals. It’s also responsible for occasional pandemics that, like the one in 1918, leave millions dead and wreak havoc on health systems and wider society.

23 Jun 2023

Cells with “Jumping Genes” Self-Destruct in the Early Stages of Development

A previously unknown type of cell that self-destructs within days of forming as part of a quality control procedure to protect the growing fetus has been found by researchers studying gene activity data of the early human embryo.

21 Jun 2023

Scientists Discover New Embryonic Cell Type that Self-Destructs to Protect the Developing Embryo

Scientists studying gene activity data of the early human embryo have discovered an overlooked type of cell which self-destructs within days of forming, as part of a quality control process to protect the developing foetus.

21 Jun 2023

Theta Supercomputer Used To Find Essential Factors That Control Structural Change of HIV Protease

Every disease has a protein basis. For some diseases, like HIV, changes in protein structure are critical for how the virus infects a person's cells.

20 Jun 2023

Microglial Cells Serve as a Stable Viral Reservoir for Latent HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) introduces a copy of its DNA into human immune cells as part of its life cycle. Some of these newly infected immune cells can subsequently enter an inactive, latent state for an extended length of time, which is known as HIV latency.

19 Jun 2023

Virus Plays Important Role in Treating Glioblastoma

A potential advancement in the treatment of glioblastoma was noted by Howard Colman, MD, PhD, the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Professor of Neuro-Oncology and co-leader of the Neurologic Cancers Disease Center and the Experimental Therapeutics CCSG program at Huntsman Cancer Institute, in a recently published manuscript.

13 Jun 2023