Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Hepatitis on the rise

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the battle is on to fight the rising numbers of hepatitis B cases. Medical experts are calling for global action to tackle the viruses that cause the liver disease hepatitis. The first worldwide estimates in drug users show 10 million have hepatitis C while 1.3 million have hepatitis B.

29 Jul 2011

Insect virus holds key to safer stem cell therapy: Singapore scientists

The future of regenerative medicine lies in harnessing the potential of the human body to renew and repair itself. Now, scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have developed a new genetic engineering technique that promises safer stem cell therapy for cancer patients. Using an insect virus, the team of researchers successfully inserted a therapeutic gene into a safe site in the DNA of human embryonic stem cells without compromising the functionality of the engineered cells.

28 Jul 2011

Scientists reveal complete three-dimensional atomic structure of an activated GPCR

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are popular drug targets, accounting for about one-third of approved drugs and many hundreds of drugs currently in development. They act as molecular switches that transduce extracellular signals by activating heterotrimeric G proteins located at the inside of the cell.

27 Jul 2011

Early initiation of HIV therapy would save money, lives of South Africans

If the South African government followed a recent recommendation by the World Health Organization to start antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected residents earlier in the progress of the disease, the policy shift would start saving the country money after 16 years and would extend thousands of lives for dozens of years, according to a new study.

27 Jul 2011

Follow-up dose recommended to defend children against pandemic virus outbreaks

Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children.

27 Jul 2011

Dog owners told not to worry about Hendra virus

After the Hendra virus outbreak among horses in Queensland, there are new worries that it may have jumped to a dog, the first such infection outside a laboratory. But Queensland authorities have moved to allay any fears of a widespread outbreak among dogs.

26 Jul 2011

Biogen Idec reports revenue of $1.2 billion for second quarter 2011

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its second quarter 2011 results.

26 Jul 2011

Preventing bioterrorism worldwide

Around the globe, many nations are realizing that the potential for bioterrorism isn't just about the U.S., officials say. And because an intentional introduction of bacteria, a virus or a toxin could happen anywhere, the World Organization for Animal Health is issuing a paper aimed at prevention.

26 Jul 2011

Book on human papilloma virus

A pair of oncologists in the Program in Women's Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island recently co-authored a pocket-sized guide to the human papilloma virus (HPV) so physicians can make more accurate diagnosis and plan more effective treatment for women with the virus.

26 Jul 2011

Sediments buried beneath the Black Sea contain ancient virus and host DNA

A scientist analyzing ancient plankton DNA signatures in sediments of the Black Sea has found that the same genetic populations of a virus and its algal host can persist--and coexist--for centuries.

26 Jul 2011

Nanoviricides lead anti-HIV candidate as good as HAART cocktail therapy

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that its lead anti-HIV candidate achieved anti-HIV efficacy equivalent to a HAART triple drug cocktail in its recently completed animal study.

25 Jul 2011

Tel Aviv University researcher tracks clinical cases of West Nile Virus

Since 1999, several outbreaks of West Nile Virus, which causes fever or severe neurological symptoms and is transmitted from birds to humans by blood-sucking mosquitoes, have been seen in the U.S., usually during the summer months. But researchers aren't certain how the virus migrated here - and they don't know how, or where, it will appear next.

25 Jul 2011

Hendra virus continues in Queensland

Experts have confirmed the eighth outbreak of the deadly Hendra virus in Queensland in a horse on the western Darling Downs. It is not known yet if a large number of people have been exposed to the sick animal, with passers-by and neighbours possibly having stroked it on the Chinchilla property where it lived as a pet.

24 Jul 2011

Effects of refusal and delay in childhood vaccination

Alison M. Buttenheim, PhD, MBA, assistant professor at Penn Nursing answers parents' questions about childhood vaccines. Dr. Buttenheim is a public health researcher and social demographer who studies parent behavior and child health.

22 Jul 2011

IDEXX Laboratories second quarter revenues increase 13% to $317.9 million

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., today reported that revenues for the second quarter of 2011 increased 13% to $317.9 million, from $281.5 million for the second quarter of 2010. Organic revenue growth, as defined below, was 8%.

22 Jul 2011

IAS conference concludes with positive news on HIV prevention

"Scientists on Wednesday wrapped up their biggest forum in the 30-year history of AIDS, unveiling stunning weapons to prevent the spread of HIV," Agence France-Presse reports about the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome.

22 Jul 2011

Hepatitis B immunization for health care students may fall short of current recommendations

A study in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), suggests that documentation of hepatitis B vaccination for health care students may fall short of current recommendations.

22 Jul 2011

Roche's cobas KRAS Mutation Test for colorectal cancer now available in Europe

Roche announced today that the cobas KRAS Mutation Test is now commercially available in Europe for use in colorectal cancer.

22 Jul 2011

HIV-infected MSM more likely to contract HCV through sex

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered rare. But a new study by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides substantial evidence that men with HIV who have sex with other men (MSM) are at increased risk for contracting HCV through sex.

22 Jul 2011

NIAID awards $36M grant to BIDMC for AIDS vaccine research in nonhuman primates

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to lead a Consortium for AIDS Vaccine Research in Nonhuman Primates.

21 Jul 2011