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.

Selfish No More: Genetic Elements Give Phages a Competitive Edge

Curious bits of DNA tucked inside genomes across all kingdoms of life historically have been disregarded since they don't seem to have a role to play in the competition for survival.

7 Jul 2024

Pasteurization Effectively Eliminates H5N1 Virus from Milk

In March 2024, dairy cows in Texas were found to be infected with highly pathogenic avian flu, or H5N1 bird flu, in the first known case of the virus spreading to cattle.

4 Jul 2024

TATSI Technology Enhances Crop Genome Editing with Transposase-Assisted Integration

With the goal of reducing the time and cost it takes to bring an improved crop to the marketplace, research conducted in the laboratory of Keith Slotkin, PhD, and his colleagues in the Plant Transformation Facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, was recently published in the scientific journal.

1 Jul 2024

Novel Epigenetic Tool CHARM Offers Hope for Prion Disease Treatment

In a new study in mice, researchers introduce "CHARM," a compact and versatile epigenetic editor that can be used to silence prion protein throughout the brain.

28 Jun 2024

Primerdesign Launches Real-Time PCR Workflow for Onsite Detection of Norovirus in Oysters

Primerdesign (part of the Novacyt Group), a company focussed on the design, manufacture, validation and supply of real-time PCR kits and reagents, today launched the genesig® Easy_oys Detection Kit for Norovirus in oysters.

From Primerdesign 26 Jun 2024

Study Reveals Immune Factors Behind COVID-19 Resistance in Some Individuals

As part of the first-ever COVID-19 human challenge study, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and their collaborators examined immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthy adult volunteers using single-cell sequencing.

20 Jun 2024

Scientists Discover Impact of Mycoviral Infection on Fungicide Sensitivity in Oomycete Pathogens

As detrimental as viruses may sound, they can be helping hands for farmers when it comes to dealing with plant pathogens.

20 Jun 2024

Virus-Like Nanoparticles Facilitate DNA Release and Host Reproduction in Streptomyces

Viruses are ubiquitous in the environment, and organisms have developed various mechanisms to counter their threat.

12 Jun 2024

Exploring the Use of Weakened Viruses for Cancer Treatment

Scientists at Northwestern Medicine have found that an attenuated virus can aid in the elimination of cancer in mice. Furthermore, mice given this virus treatment had a higher lifetime tumor-prevention rate.

12 Jun 2024

Engineered Enzyme Boosts Gene Editing Efficiency for Potential Cystic Fibrosis Treatment

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have enhanced a gene-editing technology, enabling it to efficiently insert or substitute entire genes in the genome of human cells.

11 Jun 2024

Study Unveils Broader Immune Response in EBV-MS Connection

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may have a greater effect on the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) than previously believed due to a higher level of cross-reactivity, which occurs when the immune system binds to the incorrect target.

10 Jun 2024

New Microscopy Reveals Secrets of SARS-CoV-2 Replication

Recent research published in Nature Communications by a Stanford University team may provide more accuracy in drug development by examining at the nanoscale how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates in cells.

4 Jun 2024

New Trojan Horse Virus Potentially Linked to Severe Toxoplasmosis

An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a new RNA virus that they believe is hitching a ride with a common human parasite.

3 Jun 2024

New Birnavirus Discovered in Pet Trade Zebrafish

Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected laboratory fish, Marlen Rice from the University of Utah, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, publishing May 23rd.

31 May 2024

Efficient Gene Editing with Compact Cas12a Protein

Researchers have created an innovative version of a critical CRISPR gene-editing protein that has effective editing activity and is small enough to be bundled into a non-pathogenic virus capable of delivering it to targeted cells.

31 May 2024

LoCoHD: A Novel Method for Comparative Protein Structure Analysis

In a paper recently published in Nature Communications, the HUN-REN-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group (Institute of Chemistry) has laid the foundations for a mathematical method, allowing the computer-assisted comparison of the three-dimensional structures of proteins.

30 May 2024