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.

Study calls for more research on bacteriophages involved in plant health

In an individual’s own gut and in marine environments, bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, play an important role in the regulation of microbiome.

17 Jun 2020

Study shows how viruses evade antiviral defenses

According to a new study, researchers have identified a novel antiviral defense system that can possibly be used for treating several viral infections.

17 Jun 2020

Researchers identify antibody cocktail with potential to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine evaluated several human antibodies to determine the most potent combination to be mixed in a cocktail and used as a promising anti-viral therapy against the virus that causes COVID-19.

17 Jun 2020

COVID-19 Antibody Tests: How Reliable Are They?

With stay-at-home orders expiring around the world, many hope that COVID-19 antibody testing will help businesses and institutions reopen safely.

17 Jun 2020

Combination drugs for COVID-19 show promise in laboratory tests

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 7.4 million people have been infected, and more than 410 000 have died. As yet, there is no treatment or vaccine for the disease.

16 Jun 2020

Skeletal muscles help to keep the immune system functional in chronic diseases

In the fight against cancer or chronic infections, the immune system must be active over long periods of time.

16 Jun 2020

BCG vaccine elicits trained immunity in humans

A tuberculosis vaccine developed 100 years ago also makes vaccinated persons less susceptible to other infections.

16 Jun 2020

Potent human antibodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 in animal tests

A team led by Scripps Research has discovered antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, when tested in animals and human cell cultures.

16 Jun 2020

Interconnected mycobacteria stay alive longer

The tuberculosis pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis can protect itself better when combined and thus stay alive longer in the air.

15 Jun 2020

Baylor researchers uncover a novel mechanism that triggers cellular immune response

Viruses and other disease-causing microbes influence the type of immune response their hosts will develop against them. In some cases, the predominant response involves antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that specifically recognize parts of the invading microbe and mediate its destruction.

12 Jun 2020

A protein that helps to fight viruses can also inhibit lung tissue repair

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the body’s immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue.

12 Jun 2020

Lungs' immune cells can be activated more easily than previously thought

A significant site of damage during COVID-19 infection is the lungs. Understanding how the lungs' immune cells are responding to viral infections could help scientists develop a vaccine.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a new subset of cells involved in immune response against hepatitis B

For the first time, researchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research have identified and described a new and unique subset of human cells that are involved in the immune response against hepatitis B (HBV) infection. The discovery could help develop new treatments for HBV and inform future vaccine design.

10 Jun 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) sample tracking packages

To assist labs involved with the essential RT-PCR assay part of the “test, trace and isolate” strategy for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic – Ziath has introduced two optimized packages for reliable tracking of patient samples submitted for Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing.

From Ziath Ltd 10 Jun 2020

New research advances the field of optical microscopy

New Illinois ECE research is advancing the field of optical microscopy, giving the field a critical new tool to solve challenging problems across many fields of science and engineering including semiconductor wafer inspection, nanoparticle sensing, material characterization, biosensing, virus counting, and microfluidic monitoring.

9 Jun 2020

CD8+ T cells can help develop vaccines against Japanese encephalitis, Zika fever

A clinical case of Japanese encephalitis is diagnosed in over 68,000 individuals every year, leading to the death of one in four of these affected patients.

8 Jun 2020

Genomic research can help combat COVID-19

Next-generation sequencing of the COVID-19 virus is providing powerful metagenomic data, which, combined with clinical data, will inform the search for effective treatments, as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology.

5 Jun 2020

Scientists aim to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent to combat COVID-19

A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent against COVID-19.

5 Jun 2020

New technique restores hearing in mice with a recessive genetic mutation

Using a new genetic engineering technique, known as base editing, researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have restored hearing in mice with a known recessive genetic mutation.

5 Jun 2020