Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Discovery of novel SARS-related coronaviruses in bats

In a recent study published on the bioRxiv* server, Peng Zhou, Zheng-Li Shi and colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with collaboration from scientists at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, have identified a new lineage of SARS-related coronaviruses that utilize bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for cell entry, which is the same receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect host cells.

25 May 2021

Researchers speculate the low prevalence of COVID-19 in Japan

Protective immune memory--through B cells, which make antibodies, and/or T cells, which in the case of CD8+ T cells can kill virus-infected cells--can be induced by identical but also by related viruses.

20 May 2021

To the bat cave: In search of covid’s origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan ‘lab leak’

Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that the covid virus escaped from a Chinese lab is gaining high-profile attention. As it does, reputations of renowned scientists are at risk — and so is their personal safety.

19 May 2021

New coronavirus variants can be effectively eliminated by disinfection, thorough hand washing

The researchers found that the variants have a similar surface stability as the wild type virus under laboratory conditions, but can be effectively eliminated by disinfection and thorough hand washing, heat or alcohol treatment.

18 May 2021

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines induce robust T cell response against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing the efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at eliciting a robust T cell response against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

16 May 2021

Scientists identify receptor in cells that could be key to preventing cancer drug-induced hearing loss

University of Alberta scientists have identified a receptor in cells that could be key to preventing permanent hearing loss in childhood cancer survivors who are being treated with the drug cisplatin.

14 May 2021

Study reveals how oral antiviral drug works to attack SARS-CoV-2 virus

A University of Alberta virology lab has uncovered how an oral antiviral drug works to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in findings published May 10 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

12 May 2021

MIT researchers generate the complete gene annotation of SARS-CoV-2 genome

In early 2020, a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic began, scientists were able to sequence the full genome of the virus that causes the infection, SARS-CoV-2. While many of its genes were already known at that point, the full complement of protein-coding genes was unresolved.

11 May 2021

Cancer researchers receive $3 million NCI grant to study cognitive dysfunction after chemotherapy

Cancer researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Indiana University received a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study cognitive dysfunction after chemotherapy.

4 May 2021

Immunocompromised children and young adults may experience prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection

Children and young adults with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatment, may experience a prolonged period of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the extended duration of infection may increase the incidence of mutations.

29 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces polyfunctional antibodies that can destroy infected cells

Drawing on epidemiological field studies and the FrenchCOVID hospital cohort coordinated by Inserm, teams from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS and the Vaccine Research Institute (VRI, Inserm/University Paris-Est Créteil) studied the antibodies induced in individuals with asymptomatic or symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

21 Apr 2021

Experimental antiviral drug for COVID-19 shows effectiveness in hamster models

The experimental antiviral drug MK-4482 significantly decreased levels of virus and disease damage in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists.

17 Apr 2021

Breast cancer treatment can be safely reduced in women over the age of 70

Oncologists faced with treating older women with breast cancer often must decide if the treatment may be more detrimental than the cancer.

16 Apr 2021

More SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged from immunocompromised hosts, shows research

A number of SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged from immunocompromised hosts, research has identified. It is thought that variants of concern - including B.1.1.7, a variant first identified in Kent - were a result of long-term infection in people with a weakened immune system.

16 Apr 2021

Population-based study shows the persistence of neutralizing antibodies against coronavirus

It is an open question to what extent protection against reinfection persists after overcoming a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

15 Apr 2021

Altering a mosquito's gut genes shows promise to curb malaria

Altering a mosquito's gut genes to make them spread antimalarial genes to the next generation of their species shows promise as an approach to curb malaria, suggests a preliminary study published today in eLife.

13 Apr 2021

Researchers explore an inhalable SARS-CoV-2 nanobody therapy

Even as vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being developed and administered at an unprecedented pace, treating this infection remains a challenge. To address this, researchers from China have used nanobodies (Nb) as a possible therapeutic approach. They reported Nb phage display libraries derived from four camels immunized with the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD.

12 Apr 2021

Comparative study of SARS, MERS, BAT‐SARS, and SARS-CoV-2

Even though a comparative study on the genomic sequences of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 is available, there is a gap in the research in regards to the comparison between four types of coronaviruses, namely, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, BAT-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. A new study, which deals with the genomic comparison between the sequence of the above-stated four types of coronaviruses, has been published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

2 Apr 2021

Research finds possible explanation for why many cancer drugs don't work in human trials

A possible explanation for why many cancer drugs that kill tumor cells in mouse models won't work in human trials has been found by researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Biomedical Informatics and McGovern Medical School.

1 Apr 2021

Temperature difference in the upper and lower respiratory tract influences SARS-CoV-2 replication

A team of researchers from the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern and the Federal Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) have assessed virus growth and activation of the cellular defense mechanisms in the respiratory tract.