Virus News and Research

RSS

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.

Chemically attenuated live DNA virus vaccine prevents viral infection

Rutgers researchers have devised a new way to prevent viral infections: a live-attenuated, replication-defective DNA virus vaccine that utilizes the substance centanamycin to create an altered virus for vaccine development.

From Rutgers University 22 Nov 2022

Atypical antibody shows extremely potent zika-resistant activity

A group of researchers led by Weill Cornell Medicine, New York-Presbyterian, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigators has discovered an unusual type of antibody that, even at extremely low concentrations, neutralizes the Zika virus and renders the virus infection undetectable in preclinical models.

22 Nov 2022

Applying “programmable molecular scissors” to combat COVID-19 infection

As an approach that could be used to create a new class of antiviral drugs, synthetic biology was used by Cambridge scientists to artificially create enzymes programmed to attack the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and eliminate the virus.

17 Nov 2022

New framework for developing ecological countermeasures to prevent pandemics

Preserving and restoring natural habitats could prevent pathogens that originate in wildlife from spilling over into domesticated animals and humans, according to two new companion studies.

17 Nov 2022

HIV’s covert methods of evading treatment and immunity

According to Duke Health researchers, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) appears to be driven into a latent state, lurking in cells only to erupt once more. This immune response likely evolved to help fight infections.

15 Nov 2022

IBS team uncovers new antiviral compounds derived from two Korean native plants

Codonopsis lanceolata, more commonly referred to as "deodeok", is used as a medicinal herb in South Korea.

14 Nov 2022

Recognizing how the HIV-1 evades immune system

According to a recent study led by Andrés Finzi, a professor at the Université de Montréal and researcher at the CHUM Research Centre, the type of virus used as a model to study the effectiveness of non-neutralizing antibodies against the virus that causes AIDS, has a crucial role to play.

10 Nov 2022

Providing structural understanding of the influenza virus

The structure of the influenza replication machinery and how it interacts with cellular proteins have been solved by a team of Oxford University scientists using a variety of techniques at Diamond Light Source.

8 Nov 2022

Genetic timestamping tracks the fate of plasma cells over time

Vaccines function by effectively producing immune cells that live for a long time, frequently for decades. These immune cells form a protective barrier that prevents or reduces re-infection, as well as a memory that enables one to identify an old invader, such as a virus, and eliminate it before it causes disease.

1 Nov 2022

New tool advances potential means to deliver gene therapy

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine claim to have successfully “slid” genetic instructions into a cell and produced essential proteins that were lacking from those cells using a cell’s normal process for creating proteins.

1 Nov 2022

Resistance against Epstein-Barr virus from experimental monoclonal antibodies

When tested in a lab setting using human cells, a panel of experimental monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target various Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) sites prevented infection.

1 Nov 2022

Pioneering gene editing approach could lead to new treatments for CTLA-4 insufficiency

A fault in cells that form a key part of the immune system can be repaired with a pioneering gene editing technique, finds new research demonstrated in human cells and mice, led by UCL scientists.

From University College London 27 Oct 2022

Potential SARS-CoV-2 therapy based on banana protein

A study praising the development of a potential treatment that might be applied to combat all recognized influenza strains was published online on January 13th, 2020.

25 Oct 2022

Dual threat may lead cyanobacteria to take in more carbon

The types of ocean bacteria known to absorb carbon dioxide from the air require more energy – in the form of carbon – and other resources when they're simultaneously infected by viruses and face attack from nearby predators, new research has found.

19 Oct 2022

Innovative method opens myriad new avenues for understanding the biology behind COVID-19

A highly innovative method using the latest technology has generated a comprehensive list of SARS-CoV-2 viral and human proteins that interact with each other, with one such interaction showing the virus directly influencing proteins that regulate the human immune system.

18 Oct 2022

Research team outlines three-step technique that lets human body defend against Hep B

A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has unraveled the precise operation of this defensive mechanism after finding a crucial protein complex that is active when our body is infected by the virus, paving the path for novel treatment targets.

5 Oct 2022

Visualizing subcellular structures with the aid of a brilliant fluorescent protein

The RIKEN discovery of a fluorescent protein produced from a Japanese jellyfish that maintains its brightness even under intense light could have significant positive effects on fluorescence imaging of biological samples.

3 Oct 2022

Highly effective and safe Zika vaccine technology

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a Zika vaccine technology that is very safe and effective in preclinical mouse models.

29 Sep 2022

Tiny DNA strand net in a low-cost test platform traps COVID-19 virus

According to a new study, tiny nets made of DNA strands can capture the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, illuminating it for a quick yet accurate diagnostic test and preventing it from infecting cells, suggesting a new potential path to antiviral treatment.

26 Sep 2022

Carp virus provides significant insights into immunology

In an article published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, the team led by Prof. Alain Vanderplasschen, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Liège, describes 10 years of research on how a carp virus uses a protein domain called Zalpha (Zα) to inhibit the host cell’s defense mechanisms.

26 Sep 2022