Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen and Rodlescia S. Sneed shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. Published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

4 Jul 2012

Study to investigate costs and benefits of home-based HIV testing in Malawi

HIV remains a huge killer in Sub-Saharan Africa; especially in Malawi where up to 18% of the population is HIV positive. Early detection of the virus coupled with appropriate treatment can enormously improve both quality and length of life after diagnosis, which is why researchers at Warwick Medical School are embarking on a study to investigate the costs and benefits of home-based HIV testing in Malawi.

4 Jul 2012

Nicotine addiction: An interview with Dr. Crystal

Cigarette smoking and nicotine addiction are widespread problems throughout the world. Many people continue to smoke despite high taxes and the available public information on the dangers of smoking.

3 Jul 2012

WSU researcher looks for clues on link between H1N1 flu and obesity

The recent H1N1 flu pandemic was found to be particularly dangerous to obese people, and a Wayne State University researcher is looking for clues as to why.

3 Jul 2012

Being a parent protects against cold: Study

Being a parent reduces your risk of catching a cold—possibly because of unknown "psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents," according to a study in the July issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

3 Jul 2012

Research highlights three factors that could determine outbreak of pandemic flu

A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza.

3 Jul 2012

Gene vital to flu severity discovered

Researchers have discovered that a protein known as PA-X, produced from a ribosomal frameshift mutation in a gene in the influenza A genome, has a substantial impact on host response to the virus.

2 Jul 2012

DKK1 boosts liver cancer diagnostic options

Measurement of the protein Dickkopf-1 in serum could be used to diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma, especially early disease, Chinese researchers report.

2 Jul 2012

FDA approves Roche's new HIV viral load test

Roche announced today that a new HIV viral load test has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will be commercially available in the US later this year.

2 Jul 2012

Safer alternative to experimental gene therapy against HIV infection

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprisingly simple and safe method to disrupt specific genes within cells. The scientists highlighted the medical potential of the new technique by demonstrating its use as a safer alternative to an experimental gene therapy against HIV infection.

2 Jul 2012

Researchers demonstrate power of single-molecule sequencing

The next "next-gen" technology in genome sequencing has gotten a major boost.

2 Jul 2012

HIV therapy: Interview with Joël Crouzet, CEO of InnaVirVax

HIV therapy has traditionally been associated with antiretrovirals, which considerably reduce the amount of virus present in the blood to nearly undetectable levels.

29 Jun 2012

More sophisticated process needed to vet research for possible security threats

Noting that the journal Science last week published the second of two controversial bird flu research papers, in which a team led by Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam created a mutated strain of the virus that spreads easily among ferrets, a Washington Post editorial writes that "this is not the end of the story. Rather, it marks the beginning of an important chapter for both science and security."

29 Jun 2012

Once-daily pill for HIV is a safe and effective alternative to traditional antiretroviral regimens

A new once-daily pill combining three antiretrovirals and a booster molecule is a safe and effective alternative to two widely used drug regimens for newly diagnosed HIV-positive adults who have had no previous treatment. The findings of two large international randomised trials published in this week’s Lancet also indicate that the new “Quad” pill is faster acting, doesn’t have the neuropsychiatric side effects associated with other combinations, and could improve compliance with treatment.

29 Jun 2012

Medivir, Bristol-Myers Squibb to initiate TMC435 and daclatasvir phase II combination study in HCV

Medivir AB, the research-based pharmaceutical company focused on the development of high-value treatments for infectious diseases, announces that a phase II combination study with the investigational compound TMC435 and Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational compound daclatasvir will start in July.

29 Jun 2012