Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Advances in Virus Epigenetics

Growing evidence shows viruses exploit epigenetic processes to control their life cycles but epigentic regulation of viral infections is not fully understood.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 25 Aug 2020

New method can be used to monitor the degree of COVID-19 transmission

Since the beginning of the pandemic, research groups have been working on methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 viruses in wastewater to be used to monitor the degree of COVID-19 transmission among the population.

25 Aug 2020

New COVID-19 pooling test detects asymptomatic carriers

A new peer-reviewed study published in Science Advances confirms the success of a new COVID-19 pooling test that identifies all positive subjects, including asymptomatic carriers, in a single round of testing.

21 Aug 2020

Researchers validate novel flavivirus identification test

There are more than 70 species of flavivirus, and many cause diseases in humans and animals, including dengue, Zika and yellow fever viruses.

21 Aug 2020

Study evaluates the reliability of new serological assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Approximately four months after the initial description of cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 had become a major pandemic threat.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers develop vaccine for human herpesvirus 6B

A research group led by Professor MORI Yasuko (of the Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine) has revealed that the HHV-6B glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 is an effective vaccine candidate for human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B).

20 Aug 2020

Researchers identify mechanism that explains lower-quality immune response in COVID-19 patients

The release of massive amounts of proteins called cytokines can lead to some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19.

20 Aug 2020

Gene editing approach removes oral herpes

Infectious disease researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have used a gene editing approach to remove latent herpes simplex virus 1, or HSV-1, also known as oral herpes.

18 Aug 2020

Mild COVID-19 cases can trigger robust memory T cell responses

Mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger robust memory T cell responses, even in the absence of detectable virus-specific antibody responses, researchers report August 14 in the journal Cell.

17 Aug 2020

New test provides information on immune response to Sars-Cov-2 in transplant patients

Even patients with suppressed immune systems can achieve a strong immune response to Sars-Cov-2. A test helps to adapt therapy following an infection.

17 Aug 2020

Startling report suggests COVID-19 may have first appeared in 2012

Now, a report on the website Independent Science News by researchers Jonathan Latham, and Allison Wilson suggests that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), may not have originated at a Wuhan wet market in 2019, but 1,000 miles away in 2012, in a Chinese mineshaft where workers fell ill with a mysterious, pneumonia-like illness after being exposed to bats.

17 Aug 2020

Standardized guidelines for phage therapy can speed up lifesaving treatment

When clinicians resort to phage therapy for patients who don't respond to antibiotics, the patients are usually very ill and time is of the essence. But the average time for labs to produce therapeutic phages is more than a month.

17 Aug 2020

Researchers outline how Zika virus suppresses the host immune system

A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has outlined how the Zika virus, which constituted an epidemic threat in 2016, suppresses the immune system of its host.

12 Aug 2020

Mouthwashes could lower the transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Sars-Cov-2 viruses can be inactivated using certain commercially available mouthwashes. This was demonstrated in cell culture experiments by virologists from Ruhr-Universität Bochum together with colleagues from Jena, Ulm, Duisburg-Essen, Nuremberg and Bremen. High viral loads can be detected in the oral cavity and throat of some Covid-19 patients.

10 Aug 2020

Study provides detailed insight into problems faced by patients recovering from COVID-19

Researchers have identified a pattern of longer-term symptoms likely to be experienced by people who were hospitalised with the COVID-19 infection.

7 Aug 2020

Study: Drinking honeysuckle decoction accelerates the negative conversion of COVID-19 patients

In a new study in Cell Discovery, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University and two other groups from Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Second Hospital of Nanjing present a novel finding that absorbed miRNA MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction (HD) can directly target SARS-CoV-2 genes and inhibit viral replication. Drinking of HD accelerate the negative conversion of COVID-19 patients.

7 Aug 2020

COST Actions to deal with COVID-19 crisis

The current COVID-19 crisis puts the world to the test, and research and innovation will be key in tackling this enormous challenge.

6 Aug 2020

European Commission approves first drug for hepatitis D

What started off as basic research 25 years ago has now lead to a successfully approved drug: The entry blocker bulevirtide (brand name Hepcludex, formerly known as Myrcludex B), jointly developed by researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg, the DZIF and other partners, has now been approved by the European Commission.

5 Aug 2020

Novel vaccine candidate robustly protects non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2

The development of a safe and effective vaccine will likely be required to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of scientists, led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center immunologist Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, now report that a leading candidate COVID-19 vaccine developed at BIDMC in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson raised neutralizing antibodies and robustly protected non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

30 Jul 2020

Researchers show usefulness of potential 'phage cocktail' therapy on wound infections

Australian researchers have shown how viruses can be used to save lives, developing the potential use of bacteriophages in bandages to treat life-threatening golden staph infections which may not respond to traditional antibiotics.

30 Jul 2020

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Advances in Virus Epigenetics

New method can be used to monitor the degree of COVID-19 transmission

New COVID-19 pooling test detects asymptomatic carriers

Researchers validate novel flavivirus identification test

Study evaluates the reliability of new serological assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers develop vaccine for human herpesvirus 6B

Researchers identify mechanism that explains lower-quality immune response in COVID-19 patients

Gene editing approach removes oral herpes

Mild COVID-19 cases can trigger robust memory T cell responses

New test provides information on immune response to Sars-Cov-2 in transplant patients

Startling report suggests COVID-19 may have first appeared in 2012

Standardized guidelines for phage therapy can speed up lifesaving treatment

Researchers outline how Zika virus suppresses the host immune system

Mouthwashes could lower the transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Study provides detailed insight into problems faced by patients recovering from COVID-19

Study: Drinking honeysuckle decoction accelerates the negative conversion of COVID-19 patients

COST Actions to deal with COVID-19 crisis

European Commission approves first drug for hepatitis D

Novel vaccine candidate robustly protects non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers show usefulness of potential 'phage cocktail' therapy on wound infections

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