Capsid News and Research

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Researchers find new evidence to support structure-based classification system for viruses

Professor Robert Sinclair at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University and Professor Dennis Bamford and Dr. Janne Ravantti from the University of Helsinki have found new evidence to support a classification system for viruses based on viral structure.

23 Feb 2017

Jefferson researchers reveal new insight into two states of viral protein

To generate swarms of new viral particles, a virus hijacks a cell into producing masses of self-assembling cages that are then loaded with the genetic blueprint for the next infection.

31 Jan 2017

Researchers find high-resolution structure of immature Zika virus

Researchers at Purdue University have determined the high-resolution structure of immature Zika virus, a step toward better understanding how the virus infects host cells and spreads.

10 Jan 2017

Researchers come up with new approach to stabilize vaccines at room temperature

Shipping vaccines in an unbroken temperature-controlled supply chain (a "cold chain") all the way to recipients is a major logistical and financial challenge in remote areas and developing countries.

30 Nov 2016

Study highlights potential to develop antiviral therapies, vaccines for treating astroviruses

Human astroviruses infect nearly everyone during childhood, causing diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.

22 Nov 2016

MU researcher awarded $3 million NIH grant to develop new drugs for treating HBV

Hepatitis B (HBV) is a viral infection that increases the likelihood of developing liver cancer or liver failure.

26 Sep 2016

First accurate simulation reveals how virus shape changes when invading host cell

For the first time, scientists know what happens to a virus' shape when it invades a host cell, thanks to an experiment by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

12 Sep 2016

New type of HIV drug works in unusual way

A new type of HIV drug currently being tested works in an unusual way, scientists in the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit, a collaboration between EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital, have found.

17 Jul 2016

Innovative computer HIV capsid model provides real insight into virus maturation process

From a virus's point of view, invading our cells is a matter of survival. The virus makes a living by highjacking cellular processes to produce more of the proteins that make it up.

16 Jun 2016

Understanding DNA scrunching could help develop novel ways to fight infections

Evidence of DNA "scrunching" may one day lead to a new class of drugs against viruses, according to a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Columbia University.

9 Jun 2016

Study shows expression of high-affinity TCRs linked with spontaneous control of HIV infection

A small number of patients infected by HIV spontaneously control viral replication without antiretroviral therapy, and do not develop the disease. The ability of these rare patients, known as "HIV controllers", to suppress HIV replication appears to be down to a highly effective immune response.

19 May 2016

First atomic-scale view of interaction between HIV capsid and host protein cyclophilin A

A new study offers the first atomic-scale view of an interaction between the HIV capsid - the protein coat that shepherds HIV into the nucleus of human cells - and a host protein known as cyclophilin A. This interaction is key to HIV infection, researchers say.

7 Mar 2016

UMMS researchers identify new life cycle stage in HIV infection

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have identified a new life cycle stage in HIV infection, thanks to a novel technique they developed to take images of intact infected cells.

17 Dec 2015

Bacteriophage-based method may improve efficiency of bacteria detectors

Viruses that attack bacteria - bacteriophages - can be fussy: they only inject their genetic material into the bacteria that suit them. The fussiness of bacteriophages can be exploited in order to detect specific species of bacteria. Scientists from Warsaw have just demonstrated that bacteriophage-based biosensors will be much more efficient if prior to the deposition on the surface of the bacteriophage sensor their orientation is ordered in electric field.

9 Dec 2015

Study points to new avenue for developing potential strategies to thwart HIV virus

Nearly 37 million people worldwide are living with HIV. When the virus destroys so many immune cells that the body can't fight off infection, AIDS will develop. The disease took the lives of more than a million people last year.

26 Nov 2015

Johnson & Johnson signs definitive agreement to purchase Novira Therapeutics

Johnson & Johnson today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Novira Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for curative treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

4 Nov 2015

DNA nanostructures provide novel applications in molecular medicine

Researchers from Aalto University have published an article in the recent Trends in Biotechnology journal. The article discusses how DNA molecules can be assembled into tailored and complex nanostructures, and further, how these structures can find uses in therapeutics and bionanotechnological applications.

25 Sep 2015

New type of mycovirus can cause aspergillosis in humans

Researchers, led by Dr Robert Coutts, Leverhulme Research Fellow from the School of Life and Medical Sciences at the University of Hertfordshire, and Dr Ioly Kotta-Loizou, Research Associate at Imperial College, have discovered a completely novel type of mycovirus.

29 Jul 2015

HIV capsid protein plays crucial role in the virus' life cycle

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is the retrovirus that leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. Globally, about 35 million people are living with HIV, which constantly adapts and mutates creating challenges for researchers. Now, scientists at the University of Missouri are gaining a clearer idea of what a key protein in HIV looks like, which will help explain its vital role in the virus' life cycle.

2 Jul 2015

New study reveals key part of Ebola virus life cycle at higher resolution than ever before

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) reveals a key part of the Ebola virus life cycle at a higher resolution than ever before. The research sheds light on how Ebola virus assembles—and how researchers might stop the often-fatal infection.

26 Jun 2015