Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Despite progress in reducing measles deaths, international community falls short of 90% reduction target, study says

The number of deaths from measles fell about 74 percent between 2000 and 2010, from slightly more than 535,000 in 2000 to an estimated 139,200 people worldwide in 2010, "missing an internationally agreed target for a 90 percent fall mainly because of low vaccine coverage in India and Africa where the virus kills tens of thousands a year," Reuters reports.

25 Apr 2012

Researchers describe novel mechanism of HIV-1 spread by dendritic cells

A new understanding of the initial interactions of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and dendritic cells is described by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers in a study currently featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 Apr 2012

Process of reviewing controversial experiments for publication must be streamlined in future

"We can worry less that a newly created bird flu virus might kill tens or hundreds of millions of people if it escaped from the laboratory," a New York Times editorial states. "But there is still some residual danger. And we remain appalled at the slipshod way in which this research was authorized despite its potential dangers to public health and national security," the editorial continues.

24 Apr 2012

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

The U.S. government on Friday formally accepted a recommendation from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to publish two controversial studies of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, moving the pair of papers another step closer to publication," ScienceInsider reports.

24 Apr 2012

Women & Infants named lead center in 14-site study of cytomegalovirus

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, through its participation in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network, has been named the lead center in a 14-site, $25 million study of cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common infection during pregnancy.

24 Apr 2012

Strategic innovations will help prevent HIV transmission from mothers to children, high-level meeting attendees state

At a High-Level Meeting on Innovation for Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) on Friday in Washington, D.C., "HIV experts, business leaders, aid agencies and ambassadors of 22 priority countries -- home to 90 percent of new HIV infections among children --" agreed that strategic innovations are necessary to curb the spread of the virus from women to their children, PANA/Afrique en Linge reports.

24 Apr 2012

Cancer therapy with common cold virus

Common viruses have become the latest weapon against cancer. There is the case of the eight-year-old African boy diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma at a Ugandan health clinic. He was exposed to the measles virus and in the next few weeks his tumour regressed completely and he entered remission. But only relatively recently have scientists clinically examined the interaction between viruses and cancers in the growing area of oncolytic virotherapy.

24 Apr 2012

Novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

A research team, led by John Guy, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily males ages 20-40.

24 Apr 2012

Herpes zoster vaccine safe and well tolerated: Study

The herpes zoster vaccine, also known as the shingles vaccine, is generally safe and well tolerated according to a Vaccine Safety Datalink study of 193,083 adults published online in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

23 Apr 2012

Preliminary data hint at how neem extracts may stop replication of HIV virus

Tall, with dark-green pointy leaves, the neem tree of India is known as the "village pharmacy." As a child growing up in metropolitan New Delhi, Sonia Arora recalls on visits to rural areas seeing villagers using neem bark to clean their teeth. Arora's childhood memories have developed into a scientific fascination with natural products and their power to cure illnesses.

23 Apr 2012

Study shows how cocaine changes the shape and size of neuron rewards in mouse model

New research from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reveals that repeated exposure to cocaine decreases the activity of a protein necessary for normal functioning of the brain's reward system, thus enhancing the reward for cocaine use, which leads to addiction. Investigators were also able to block the ability of repeated cocaine exposure, to induce addiction.

23 Apr 2012

New drug can prevent exacerbations of asthma due to common cold: Trial report

For the tens of thousands of asthma sufferers in the UK there is a “breakthrough” drug that reduces complications caused by the common cold, it is claimed.

22 Apr 2012

Measles report card for 2011 shows too many cases

According to the CDC in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, last year was the worst year for measles in the U.S. in 15 years. They report that there were 222 cases of measles, a large jump from the 60 or so seen in a typical year. Most of the cases last year were imported — either by foreign visitors or by U.S. residents who picked up the virus overseas.

22 Apr 2012

Scientists discover tumor-targeting neural stem cells

Could engineered human stem cells hold the key to cancer survival? Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have discovered that neural stem cells possess the innate ability to target tumor cells outside the central nervous system. This finding, which was demonstrated successfully on breast cancer cells, was recently published in leading peer reviewed journal, Stem Cells.

21 Apr 2012

Results from Boehringer Ingelheim's afatinib Phase III lung cancer trial

Highly anticipated results from LUX-Lung 3, the pivotal Phase III lung cancer trial investigating Boehringer Ingelheim's front running oncology investigational compound, the ErbB Family Blocker afatinib, in patients with EGFR mutations, will be presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago from 1 - 5 June 2012.

21 Apr 2012

New data from descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis

New data from a descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis show that up to 43 percent of genotype-1a (GT1a) and up to 71 percent of GT1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients achieved sustained viral response (SVR12). SVR12 has been highly correlated with SVR24, which is a recognized indicator of viral cure.

20 Apr 2012

New data provides hope for HCV non-responders

New data from a number of clinical trials presented for the first time at the International Liver Congress- 2012 provides hope for previously difficult to treat hepatitis C (HCV) patient populations.

20 Apr 2012

Entire HCV lifecycle can be recapitulated in murine cells

A US study presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2012 demonstrates that the entire HCV lifecycle can be recapitulated in murine cells, implying that HCV permissive mouse models could soon be developed.

20 Apr 2012

Positive data from Synairgen’s SNG001 Phase II trial on asthma

Scientists from the University of Southampton and Synairgen, a respiratory drug development company spun out from the University, can announce positive data from its Phase II clinical trial, into the effectiveness of the drug SNG001 (inhaled interferon beta) for asthma patients.

20 Apr 2012

Final results from MSD’s VICTRELIS plus PEGINTRON Phase III trial on HCV treatment-related anemia

MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, announced final results from a Phase III, open-label study designed to compare the impact of two anaemia management strategies on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection treated with VICTRELIS(boceprevir) in combination with PEGINTRON and ribavirin.

20 Apr 2012

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Despite progress in reducing measles deaths, international community falls short of 90% reduction target, study says

Researchers describe novel mechanism of HIV-1 spread by dendritic cells

Process of reviewing controversial experiments for publication must be streamlined in future

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

Women & Infants named lead center in 14-site study of cytomegalovirus

Strategic innovations will help prevent HIV transmission from mothers to children, high-level meeting attendees state

Cancer therapy with common cold virus

Novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

Herpes zoster vaccine safe and well tolerated: Study

Preliminary data hint at how neem extracts may stop replication of HIV virus

Study shows how cocaine changes the shape and size of neuron rewards in mouse model

New drug can prevent exacerbations of asthma due to common cold: Trial report

Measles report card for 2011 shows too many cases

Scientists discover tumor-targeting neural stem cells

Results from Boehringer Ingelheim's afatinib Phase III lung cancer trial

New data from descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis

New data provides hope for HCV non-responders

Entire HCV lifecycle can be recapitulated in murine cells

Positive data from Synairgen’s SNG001 Phase II trial on asthma

Final results from MSD’s VICTRELIS plus PEGINTRON Phase III trial on HCV treatment-related anemia

Microplate-based assays in virology research eBook eBook

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting