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.

Researchers identify role of glycans in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

With a surge in the COVID-19 cases, scientists are working actively to develop therapies and vaccines to impede SARS-CoV-2.

25 Sep 2020

Researchers analyze individual cells to build an atlas of the human heart

Scientists have created a cellular and molecular map of the healthy human heart, to understand how this vital organ functions, and to shed light on what goes wrong in cardiovascular disease.

25 Sep 2020

New antibodies could form the basis of a broad-spectrum flu drug

Researchers have identified two antibodies that protect mice against lethal infections of influenza B virus, report scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

25 Sep 2020

Scientists uncover new parvovirus strategy for reaching the cell nucleus

Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique, in collaboration with American scientists, have uncovered a new parvovirus strategy for reaching the cell nucleus which is their site of replication.

25 Sep 2020

T-cell-based vaccine strategy provides broader protection against influenza

As Americans begin pulling up their sleeves for an annual flu vaccine, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided new insights into an alternative vaccine approach that provides broader protection against seasonal influenza.

24 Sep 2020

New brain-inspired nanodevice can identify mutations in viruses

In the September issue of the journal Nature, scientists from Texas A&M University, Hewlett Packard Labs and Stanford University have described a new nanodevice that acts almost identically to a brain cell.

24 Sep 2020

New Dual CAR T cell immunotherapy can help fight against HIV infection

A recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine, led by researchers James Riley, PhD, a professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Todd Allen, PhD, a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Group Leader at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, describes a new Dual CAR T cell immunotherapy that can help fight HIV infection

24 Sep 2020

Druggable pocket in SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein can help eliminate COVID-19

Researchers have identified a druggable pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that could be utilized to prevent the virus from infecting human cells.

24 Sep 2020

Irisin hormone could have therapeutic effect on COVID-19 patients

A study conducted by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) suggests that irisin, a hormone secreted from muscles in response to exercise, could have a therapeutic effect on COVID-19 patients.

23 Sep 2020

Nanoparticle SARS-CoV-2 tool could accelerate the search for drugs

A team of scientists from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., has developed a new tool that mimics how SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- infects a cell, information that could potentially speed the search for treatments against the disease.

22 Sep 2020

Elderly patients face higher risk of severity and death from COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 can infect people of any age. However, elderly people face a greater risk of severity and death when compared to younger patients.

22 Sep 2020

Researchers develop low-cost CRISPR method to detect SARS-CoV-2

In March 2020, scientists started to design a new, cost-efficient, CRISPR-based diagnostic platform to spot infectious diseases, such as SARS-CoV-2.

22 Sep 2020

Study shows removal of specific gene makes poxviruses harmless

According to a new study, the removal of a single gene makes poxviruses—a lethal family of viral infections that spread from animals to humans—harmless.

From University of Surrey 22 Sep 2020

Gene therapy overcomes cardiac effects in mouse model of Freidreich’s ataxia

Gene therapy was successfully used to overcome the cardiac effects of Freidreich’s ataxia (FA) in a mouse model of the disease, as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy. Click here to read the full-text article free online through October 18, 2020.

21 Sep 2020

T cells play a vital role in controlling SARS-CoV-2 during acute phase of infection

Ever since SARS-CoV-2 first appeared, researchers have been trying to understand whether sometimes the immune system does more harm than good during the acute phase of COVID-19. The latest study by researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology clearly argues in favor of the immune system.

17 Sep 2020

Study shows immune cells contribute to brain infection

A new study shows how the immune system has a damaging effect on a severe brain condition, which is most commonly caused by the cold sore virus.

17 Sep 2020

Viruses provide a "coup de grace" when ocean algae are stressed and dying

Scientists have long believed that ocean viruses always quickly kill algae, but Rutgers-led research shows they live in harmony with algae and viruses provide a "coup de grace" only when blooms of algae are already stressed and dying.

From Rutgers University 15 Sep 2020

Sticky DNA webs may cause tissue damage linked to severe COVID-19

Sticky webs of DNA released from immune cells known as neutrophils may cause much of the tissue damage associated with severe COVID-19 infections, according to two new studies published on September 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM).

15 Sep 2020

Researchers develop highly scalable and accurate antibody test for COVID-19

An antibody test for the virus that causes COVID-19, developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with Houston Methodist and other institutions, is more accurate and can handle a much larger number of donor samples at lower overall cost than standard antibody tests currently in use.

14 Sep 2020