Capsid News and Research

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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

Trio of Andor EMCCD cameras chosen to unravel the inner structure of Herpes simplex virus

Although super-resolution light microscopy has broken new ground in our understanding of subcellular structures and the movement of individual molecules within cells, its use to investigate virus particles is in its infancy...

From Andor Technology Ltd. 14 Apr 2015

Norovirus vaccine may be available in the future

A multivalent candidate vaccine elicits broad antibody responses to a range of norovirus strains, including strains not included in the vaccine or previously encountered by participants, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine.

25 Mar 2015

Modelling the biological mesoscale: an interview with Professor Art Olson

The biological mesoscale range includes biological structures that range from 10 to 100 nanometers (billionths of a meter). Structures in this size range include viruses, cellular organelles, large molecular complexes, and any other internal cellular environments within that range.

18 Jan 2015

Study provides evidence for presence of enterovirus in pancreatic islets of type 1 diabetic patients

Norwegian scientists with European partners have found evidence for the presence of Enterovirus in pancreatic islets of type 1 diabetic patients. This provides evidence consistent with the theory that a low grade Enteroviral infection in the pancreatic islets contribute to disease progression in humans.

16 Dec 2014

NeuroPhage engineers series of molecules with potential to treat most neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers from NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have engineered a series of molecules with the potential to treat most neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

23 Apr 2014

Assembly Pharmaceuticals, BioCrossroads develop novel drugs that have potential to treat chronic HBV infection

Assembly Pharmaceuticals and BioCrossroads today announced that the BioCrossroads Indiana Seed Fund II has made an investment in Assembly Pharmaceuticals. Assembly is developing novel drugs for the treatment and potential cure of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

10 Apr 2014

Researchers provide new insights into how common cold virus infects

On average, each of us catches a cold two to three times a year. However, how the common cold virus actually infects us is only partly understood. Researchers from the Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, in collaboration with two Spanish groups, have now provided new insights into this process.

30 Dec 2013

Scientists explore mechanisms of viruses' shells

Viruses are like small vessels containing an active component, the genetic material, that can infect a host cell. The vessel, called capsid or vector, is basically a shell that changes its shape when it penetrates a cell to infect it, and may even break into pieces.

12 Dec 2013

Human Treg responses allow sustained recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated transgene expression

Successful gene therapy is based on the effective delivery and maintained expression of healthy copies of a gene into tissues of individuals with a disease-associated genetic mutation.

16 Nov 2013