Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

New study reveals how infectious proteins spread from gut to the brain

Diagnosis of deadly brain conditions could be helped by new research that shows how infectious proteins that cause the disease spread.

5 Aug 2015

IP10 levels linked to HBsAg decline during TDF treatment

Baseline serum interferon-inducible protein 10 levels predict hepatitis B surface antigen reduction in patients with hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B virus infection treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, findings indicate.

4 Aug 2015

Baseline HBsAg, platelet count predict spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance

Hepatitis B surface antigen level and platelet count at baseline are significantly associated with spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance in hepatitis B virus carriers and those with chronic infection, research suggests.

4 Aug 2015

Genotype A HBV mapped in acute, chronic Japanese patients

Not only is genotype A the most common genotype among Japanese patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection, but its prevalence is spreading among young adults with chronic HBV infection, shows a nationwide study.

4 Aug 2015

Northwestern gets $17.5 million NIH grant to invent, develop implantable drug delivery system for HIV prevention

Northwestern Medicine scientists have received a five-year, $17.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for an interdisciplinary project that aims to invent, develop and test an implantable drug delivery system to protect high-risk individuals from HIV infection for up to a year at a time.

4 Aug 2015

Penn Medicine devises new approach to develop vaccines against lethal diseases

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have devised an entirely new approach to vaccines - creating immunity without vaccination.

4 Aug 2015

Vaccine containing virus-like nanoparticles could be novel treatment option for RSV

A vaccine containing virus-like nanoparticles, or microscopic, genetically engineered particles, is an effective treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to researchers at Georgia State University.

4 Aug 2015

First biodegradable gene delivery system efficiently penetrates human airway mucus barrier of lung tissue

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil have designed a DNA-loaded nanoparticle that can pass through the mucus barrier covering conducting airways of lung tissue — proving the concept, they say, that therapeutic genes may one day be delivered directly to the lungs to the levels sufficient to treat cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and other life-threatening lung diseases.

4 Aug 2015

Shire acquires Foresight Biotherapeutics for $300 million

Shire plc announced today that it has acquired New York-based, privately held Foresight Biotherapeutics Inc. for $300 million.

3 Aug 2015

RNA-binding protein ROQUIN regulates response to DNA damage

Messenger (mRNA) molecules are a key component of protein biosynthesis. They are first transcribed as a "working copy" of the DNA and then translated into protein molecules.

3 Aug 2015

First large field trial shows VSV-ZEBOV is effective against Ebola

A vaccine against the Ebola virus, tested in West Africa for the first time in a field trial, has proved to be effective. People who had come into close contact with someone recently infected, and who are therefore at particularly high risk, were vaccinated.

3 Aug 2015

Tests show VSV-ZEBOV vaccine safe and effective against Ebola

Tests of the experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV in over 7500 participants in Guinea suggest that the vaccine provides high protection against the disease as early as ten days after vaccination, in adults who have potentially been exposed to the virus by coming in close contact with a recently infected person.

31 Jul 2015

Guinea Phase III trial shows VSV-EBOV vaccine highly effective against Ebola

Results from an interim analysis of the Guinea Phase III efficacy vaccine trial show that VSV-EBOV (Merck, Sharp & Dohme) is highly effective against Ebola.

31 Jul 2015

Researchers reconstruct ancient virus to improve gene therapy

Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery, published July 30 in Cell Reports, could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies currently available, but may also help a greater number of patients.

31 Jul 2015

Study shows why candidate vaccine used in HVTN 505 clinical trial not protective against HIV infection

A study by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Duke University helps explain why the candidate vaccine used in the HVTN 505 clinical trial was not protective against HIV infection despite robustly inducing anti-HIV antibodies: the vaccine stimulated antibodies that recognized HIV as well as microbes commonly found in the intestinal tract, part of the body's microbiome.

31 Jul 2015

Researchers uncover master regulators that govern the fate of TFH cells

Follicular helper Tcells (TFH cells), a rare type of immune cell that is essential for inducing a strong and lasting antibody response to viruses and other microbes, have garnered intense interest in recent years but the molecular signals that drive their differentiation had remained unclear.

31 Jul 2015

Patients with HPV traces post-treatment more likely to have oropharyngeal cancer recurrence

Oropharyngeal cancer patients who were found to have detectable traces of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) in their saliva following cancer treatment are at an increased risk for recurrence, a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found.

31 Jul 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

Study elucidates on global prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infections

Hepatitis B infections are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide. The disease can become chronic, and is one of the most important causes of severe diseases such as liver cancer. In the scope of an international study funded by the World Health Organization, scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig determined how often the chronic infection occurs in different countries and how many people of the general population are affected. They noted strong differences between different countries.

29 Jul 2015

Point-of-care diagnostics for Ebola

In a recent DECODED research profile, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), details how IDT scientists Kristin Beltz and Dr Scott Rose are collaborating with Dr Brian Taylor’s research team at Battelle (Aberdeen, MD, USA) to design and validate a RT-qPCR assay that can detect the Ebola virus in the field.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 28 Jul 2015