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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 new virus in patients with severe brain infections

Researchers identify new virus in patients with severe brain infections

Researchers have identified a new virus in patients with severe brain infections in Vietnam. Further research is needed to determine whether the virus is responsible for the symptoms of disease. [More]
New technique offers potential to screen patients for viruses

New technique offers potential to screen patients for viruses

In research published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Saint Louis University researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection. [More]
Patients with central nervous system infections may suffer from the effects of CyCV-VN virus: Study

Patients with central nervous system infections may suffer from the effects of CyCV-VN virus: Study

Patients in Vietnam and other locations with central nervous system infections may well be suffering from the effects of a newly discovered virus, according to a study to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. [More]
Bioapplications of nanoparticles: an interview with Dr Catherine Berry, University of Glasgow

Bioapplications of nanoparticles: an interview with Dr Catherine Berry, University of Glasgow

These particles are all classed as inorganic particles, which can all be utilised in biomedical applications. They differ in terms of their inherent material and size dependent physiochemical properties, for example, their optical and magnetic properties. [More]
International researchers solve three-dimensional structure of respiratory syncytial virus

International researchers solve three-dimensional structure of respiratory syncytial virus

Young children and the elderly are especially susceptible to respiratory syncytial virus. The three-dimensional structure of respiratory syncytial virus has been solved by an international team from Finland and Switzerland. [More]

Age disparities exist in continuum of care for patients with HIV

Age disparities exist in the continuum of care for patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with people younger than 45 years less likely to be aware of their infection or to have a suppressed viral load, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. [More]

Vaccine given to newborns 60% effective against rotavirus in Ghana

Mayo Clinic and other researchers have shown that a vaccine given to newborns is at least 60 percent effective against rotavirus in Ghana. Rotavirus causes fever, vomiting and diarrhea, which in infants can cause severe dehydration. [More]

SLU researchers find new technology that can detect previously unknown viruses

In research published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Saint Louis University researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection. [More]
HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce syphilis, HIV

HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce syphilis, HIV

HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce rates of syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a University of Toronto study has found. [More]
Researchers produce first genome-wide investigation of cap-independent translation

Researchers produce first genome-wide investigation of cap-independent translation

Because of their central importance to biology, proteins have been the focus of intense research, particularly the manner in which they are produced from genetically coded templates-a process commonly known as translation. While the general mechanism of translation has been understood for some time, protein synthesis can initiate by more than one mechanism. One of the least well understood mechanisms is known as cap-independent translation. [More]

Ottawa researchers say advanced mathematical modeling can be used to fight against cancer

Here's a good reason to pay attention in math class. Nature Communications has published a paper from Ottawa researchers today, outlining how advanced mathematical modelling can be used in the fight against cancer. [More]

Accenture: Boom ahead for retail health clinics

According to the consulting firm Accenture, the number of retail clinics will likely double by the end of 2015 -- a trend fueled by the demand for care by consumers who will become insured under the health law. Meanwhile, the Fiscal Times examines why some physicians are choosing not to accept any health insurance. [More]
New research finding raises questions about common mutant forms of JC polyomavirus

New research finding raises questions about common mutant forms of JC polyomavirus

The JC polyomavirus is clearly opportunistic. It infects half the population but lethally destroys brain tissue only in immunocompromised patients - and it may be outright sneaky, too. Even as a new research paper allays fears that common mutant forms of the virus are the ones directly responsible for the disease's main attack, that same finding raises new questions about what the mutants are doing instead. [More]

Experts raise awareness about the importance of flu vaccine

The last flu season arrived four weeks early, was more intense than expected and resulted in the deaths of more than 110 children in the United States. In an effort to get ahead of the upcoming flu season, experts at Montefiore Medical Center are raising awareness about the importance of the flu vaccine, which remains the best option to reduce a person's risk of contracting the virus. The flu season can start as early as late September and usually runs for about 12 to 15 weeks. [More]

First Edition: June 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how employers are preparing for some parts of the health law to kick in. [More]

Investigational all-oral interferon-free combination from Boehringer Ingelheim achieves 95% viral cure rates in genotype-1b hepatitis C patients

New data from Boehringer Ingelheim’s interferon-free SOUND-C3 study were presented during the APASL Liver Week in Singapore. The Phase IIb study investigated the efficacy and safety of faldaprevir+ and deleobuvir+ (BI 207127) plus ribavirin in treatment-naïve patients with genotype-1b (GT-1b) hepatitis C virus (HCV),1 one of the most common types of HCV globally.2 [More]
Effective method to restore sight to patients with blinding diseases

Effective method to restore sight to patients with blinding diseases

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from inherited defects like retinitis pigmentosa to degenerative illnesses of old age, such as macular degeneration [More]

NeuroVive signs agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics to develop and commercialize cyclophilin-inhibiting molecules

NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB (publ) (STO:NVP), a leading mitochondrial medicine company, has signed a collaboration agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics to develop the molecules that were recently acquired from Biotica. [More]

Loyola University surgeon uses electrical stimulation as part of surgical technique to treat Bell's palsy

A Loyola University Medical Center surgeon is using electrical stimulation as part of an advanced surgical technique to treat Bell's palsy. Bell's palsy is a condition that causes paralysis on one side of a patient's face. [More]
Johns Hopkins researchers develop experimental vaccine for TB meningitis

Johns Hopkins researchers develop experimental vaccine for TB meningitis

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers working with animals has developed a vaccine that prevents the virulent TB bacterium from invading the brain and causing the highly lethal condition TB meningitis, a disease that disproportionately occurs in TB-infected children and in adults with compromised immune system. [More]