Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

U of T researchers find another clue in understanding the cause of MS

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found another clue in understanding the cause of what drives Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease. Their findings were published today in Immunity.

16 Dec 2015

Shingles vaccine can help protect elderly patients with end-stage renal disease

Elderly patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who received the shingles vaccine were half as likely to develop shingles compared to those who were not vaccinated. The new study from Kaiser Permanente, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, also found the best protection against shingles was achieved when patients received the vaccination shortly after beginning dialysis.

16 Dec 2015

SLU researcher discovered world's first dengue vaccine

A vaccine to prevent dengue fever discovered by a Saint Louis University researcher in 1997 and now licensed worldwide by Sanofi Pasteur has been approved for use in Mexico. Dengvaxia is the world's first vaccine approved to prevent dengue fever, which is a virus spread by mosquitoes primarily in tropical and sub-tropical areas.

15 Dec 2015

Flu vaccine strategy needs to be reworked, York U study finds

In the face of a flu epidemic, a one-size fits all vaccine strategy won't be effective, a York University study has found. Instead, strategies need to change significantly depending on the characteristics of each region in Canada and how easily the particular flu strain spreads.

15 Dec 2015

SLU scientist awarded new $2.2 million NIH grant to develop cure for hepatitis B

With proof-of-principle in his pocket and a new $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, SLU scientist John Tavis, Ph.D., will take his 25 year mission to finally develop a cure for the hepatitis B virus into the next phase.

15 Dec 2015

Irradiated white blood cells release substances that have positive effect upon tissue repair

Hendrik Jan Ankersmit's research group at the Clinical Department of Thoracic Surgery of MedUni Vienna has successfully shown that irradiated white blood cells release substances that reduce the severity of the damage caused by a heart attack or stroke and in spinal injuries and have a positive effect upon tissue repair. However, up until now it wasn't known exactly which particular substances were responsible for these beneficial effects. This has now been discovered.

14 Dec 2015

New rapid test can detect malaria parasites, viruses and biomarkers

Nothing could be simpler: a drop of blood is placed on a special carrier substance; after a wait of a few minutes, the slide is placed on a device that emits polarised light thanks to an inexpensive polarisation filter. It is covered with a lid containing a second polarisation filter, which blocks the light from all materials except crystalline or materials with directional properties.

13 Dec 2015

Combination treatment provides effective one-two punch against prostate cancer

Results from a long-term clinical trial conducted by cancer researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital show that combining radiation treatment with "suicide gene therapy," a technique in which prostate cancer cells are genetically modified so they signal a patient's immune system to attack them, provides a safe and effective one-two punch against the disease.

12 Dec 2015

U.S. has sufficient capacity for treating Ebola outbreak but financial, resource challenges remain as hurdle

The United States has sufficient capacity for treating another outbreak of the Ebola virus, but financial, staffing and resource challenges remain a hurdle for many hospitals and health systems attempting to maintain dedicated treatment centers for highly infectious diseases, according to new study released today.

12 Dec 2015

NIAID scientists successfully test prime-boost H7N9 influenza vaccine concept in clinical trial

In clinical trials, several candidate H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccines made from inactivated viruses have been shown to be safe and to generate an immune response. However, scientists believe for practical use, these potential vaccines would require multiple doses or the addition of adjuvants, which enhance the immune response.

12 Dec 2015

Abbott, UCSF identify human pegivirus 2 among some patients with hepatitis C

Abbott and University of California San Francisco published research identifying a newly discovered human virus, known as human pegivirus 2 (HPgV-2), and proving it is found among some patients with hepatitis C (HCV).

12 Dec 2015

AIDS treatment can improve well-being of HIV-negative people

In rural Malawi, roughly 10 percent of the adult population has HIV. At the peak of the epidemic, in the 1990s and early 2000s, nearly everyone knew someone infected with or affected by the virus, what demographer Hans-Peter Kohler of the University of Pennsylvania describes as a generalized epidemic.

12 Dec 2015

Mount Sinai scientists develop new tool to determine global role of microRNAs

As microRNA biology has been implicated in everything from the development of cancer to virus infections, a new tool developed by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai holds tremendous potential to develop new therapies that involve these small regulatory fragments of RNA.

11 Dec 2015

Virologists demonstrate how poxviruses defeat the body's host immune defenses

Smallpox virus, which killed millions of humans through the ages, ranks among the world's most feared bioterrorism agents. Human monkeypox continues to occur sporadically in remote African villages.

11 Dec 2015

Scientists find effective antiviral mechanisms to inhibit chikungunya virus

Scientists looking at the antiviral mechanisms of two previously identified human monoclonal antibodies have found they potently inhibit chikungunya virus (CHIKV) at multiple stages of infection.

11 Dec 2015

New framework launched for global elimination of human rabies

A new framework to eliminate human rabies and save tens of thousands of lives each year has been launched today by the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Global Alliance for the Control of Rabies.

10 Dec 2015

Study reveals molecular function of protein essential for replication of H5N1 flu virus

An international collaboration of scientists from the CEA, CNRS, University Joseph Fourier, the EMBL and the ILL has revealed the molecular function of a protein essential for replication of H5N1 influenza virus.

10 Dec 2015

More than half of U.S. hospitals don't require flu shots for staff, new study finds

Within weeks, flu will start spreading across North America, sickening millions of people. It will hit people with health problems and weak immune systems hardest, and may kill tens of thousands of them.

10 Dec 2015

Oxitec prepares to increase supplies of OX513A to address recent outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil

Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, today announced that Oxitec, a UK-based subsidiary of the Company, is prepared to increase supplies of its proprietary mosquito control solution, OX513A, through its Brazil facilities to assist Brazil in addressing the recent devastating outbreak of the Zika virus and other diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

8 Dec 2015

Simple approach to predict viral evolution may improve vaccine efficacy

New results from a study performed at the University of Helsinki suggest that genomic information from circulating influenza viruses can help in producing more efficient seasonal vaccines. The researchers were able to develop a simple approach for reliable real-time tracking and prediction of viral evolution based on whole-genome sequences of influenza viruses.

8 Dec 2015

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

U of T researchers find another clue in understanding the cause of MS

Shingles vaccine can help protect elderly patients with end-stage renal disease

SLU researcher discovered world's first dengue vaccine

Flu vaccine strategy needs to be reworked, York U study finds

SLU scientist awarded new $2.2 million NIH grant to develop cure for hepatitis B

Irradiated white blood cells release substances that have positive effect upon tissue repair

New rapid test can detect malaria parasites, viruses and biomarkers

Combination treatment provides effective one-two punch against prostate cancer

U.S. has sufficient capacity for treating Ebola outbreak but financial, resource challenges remain as hurdle

NIAID scientists successfully test prime-boost H7N9 influenza vaccine concept in clinical trial

Abbott, UCSF identify human pegivirus 2 among some patients with hepatitis C

AIDS treatment can improve well-being of HIV-negative people

Mount Sinai scientists develop new tool to determine global role of microRNAs

Virologists demonstrate how poxviruses defeat the body's host immune defenses

Scientists find effective antiviral mechanisms to inhibit chikungunya virus

New framework launched for global elimination of human rabies

Study reveals molecular function of protein essential for replication of H5N1 flu virus

More than half of U.S. hospitals don't require flu shots for staff, new study finds

Oxitec prepares to increase supplies of OX513A to address recent outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil

Simple approach to predict viral evolution may improve vaccine efficacy

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

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Shaping the future of lab automation through AI and robotics