Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Scientists receive AACR Team Science Award for HPV research

The Fifth Annual AACR Team Science Award will be given to a team of internationally renowned molecular biologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians and clinicians from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington who have worked together on human papillomavirus for more than 20 years.

28 Mar 2011

Plasmid containing Sindbis replicase genes can destruct lung cancer

Alpha viruses, such as Sindbis virus, carry their genetic information on a single strand of RNA. On infection they use a protein, replicase, to produce double stranded RNA which is used as genetic material to make more viruses. However the body recognizes dsRNA as foreign, and infected cells initiate an immune response.

28 Mar 2011

Mexico on swine flu alert again

After four new deaths from swine flu (H1N1), authorities in Mexico's Chihuahua state along the U.S. border announced preventive health measures Sunday to staunch a return of an H1N1 epidemic.

27 Mar 2011

HIV uses base excision repair pathway to insert DNA into host-cell genome

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.

25 Mar 2011

First evidence of H5N1 transmission between domestic farms and wild birds

Wild migratory birds may indeed play a role in the spread of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.

25 Mar 2011

SeraCare launches new HIV panel

SeraCare Life Sciences, a global life sciences company providing vital products and services to facilitate the discovery, development and production of human diagnostics and therapeutics, announces the launch of its new Worldwide HIV Performance Panel.

25 Mar 2011

Merck & Co receives FDA approval for Zostavax vaccine to treat shingles

The Food and Drug Administration today approved the use of Zostavax, a live attenuated virus vaccine, for the prevention of shingles in individuals 50 to 59 years of age. Zostavax is already approved for use in individuals 60 years of age and older.

25 Mar 2011

Mosquitoes carry risk of Murray Valley encephalitis warn Victorian health authorities

After detecting some new cases of Murray Valley encephalitis in chickens, health authorities have warned Victorians to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Victoria's chief health officer, Dr John Carnie warned that the deadly disease had been detected in "sentinel" chickens at Cobram, Rutherglen, Toolamba and Bendigo. “These latest detections follow positive results in chickens in similar areas a month ago, including Barmah and Kerang… Evidence of the virus is again present in these areas,” Dr Carnie said.

24 Mar 2011

Tick-borne disease identified as emerging threat

Five years ago, large numbers of farmers in central China began falling victim to an mysterious disease marked by high fever, gastrointestinal disorder and an appalling mortality rate - as high as 30 percent in initial reports. Investigators from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention hurried to the scene of the outbreak. On the basis of DNA evidence, they quickly concluded that it had been caused by human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a bacteria transmitted by tick bites.

24 Mar 2011

Strong 'innate immunity' effective in chikungunya patients

Chikungunya is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. The disease is spreading in the world and periodically sparks new outbreaks. Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean and even Southern Europe are now affected.

23 Mar 2011

Researcher to look for genes that can suppress epileptic seizures in fruit flies

"Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration" - is the name of a rare and competitive grant that Reenan recently won from the National Institutes of Health. Beginning April 1, Reenan will use the four-year, $1.3-million award to look for genes that can suppress seizures in fruit flies that he has cleverly engineered to mimic human epilepsy.

22 Mar 2011

VirWall launches new UV sanitizer to eliminate bacteria, virus from communication devices

ViraShield, the new UV sanitizer introduced by VirWall Systems Inc., is the first multi-purpose device of its kind that takes only seconds to rid those products we've come to depend on of the bacteria and viruses that typically crawl, breed and cover the surfaces of our personal communications devices.

22 Mar 2011

‘Sleeping sickness’ pandemic offers insight into Parkinson’s

A bizarre disease that caused sufferers to fall into a deep ‘sleep’ while still being aware of their surroundings can offer us insight into the nature of Parkinson’s disease.

21 Mar 2011

Second US trial in HIV/AIDS lymphoma patients using Benitec’s ddRNAi technology

Benitec Limited (ASX:BLT), a company involved in RNA-based gene silencing for human therapeutics, announced that the City of Hope research hospital in Duarte, California is planning to initiate a second small Phase I/II study using Benitec’s DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) technology in lymphoma patients carrying the HIV virus. The aim of the study is to optimize the treatment by modifying a range of clinical parameters.

21 Mar 2011

NanoViricides reports improved efficacy with optimized FluCide nanoviricide drug candidates for influenza

NanoViricides, Inc. reported dramatically improved antiviral efficacy with its optimized FluCide™ drug candidates in its most recent animal study.

21 Mar 2011

Medicago launches clinical development of seasonal flu vaccine

Medicago Inc. a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), today announced that the first dose of vaccine has been administered thereby initiating the Company's phase I H1N1 influenza VLP vaccine candidate ("H1N1 vaccine") clinical trial in the United States. The primary safety and immunogenicity results for this trial are expected within three months.

21 Mar 2011

Tiny Locked Nucleic Acid-based compounds inhibit entire disease-associated microRNA families

A study published online in this week's Nature Genetics demonstrates that tiny Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA)-based compounds developed by Santaris Pharma A/S can inhibit entire disease-associated microRNA families. This provides a potential new approach for treating a variety of diseases including cancer, viral infections, cardiovascular and muscle diseases.

21 Mar 2011

Drug delivery breakthrough for Alzheimer’s disease

Till date all attempts to get drugs into the brain were countered by the blood-brain barrier - the natural defense against potentially harmful chemicals floating around the body. However this new finding from a team from University of Oxford shows that now scientists have successfully switched off a gene implicated in Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice by exploiting tiny particles naturally released by cells, called exosomes.

21 Mar 2011

BUSM professors highlight increased risks of naturally occurring infections

Paul Duprex, PhD, and Elke M-hlberger, PhD, both associate professors of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine, recently co-authored a commentary about viruses for Microbiology Today, the monthly publication of the Society of General Microbiology, which is the largest microbiological society in Europe.

19 Mar 2011

Commentary on the global challenges of emerging viral infections

Paul Duprex, PhD, and Elke Mühlberger, PhD, both associate professors of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), recently co-authored a commentary about viruses for Microbiology Today, the monthly publication of the Society of General Microbiology, which is the largest microbiological society in Europe. The article focuses on the history of viruses and vaccines and gives their perspective on what is necessary to evolve to the next era of virology research.

18 Mar 2011