Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

HPV vaccination rates falter

According to the latest research lesser numbers of teenage girls and young women are getting infected by the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) – a virus linked to cervical cancer. Research also shows that most who start the vaccination regimen against the virus fail to take all three doses.

10 Nov 2010

Contraceptive, antiviral gel using bee venom wins 2010 Gates Foundation grant

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

10 Nov 2010

World Lung Foundation report highlights prevalence of acute respiratory infections worldwide

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) - such as influenza, pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - cause 4.25 million deaths each year often among young children in developing countries, according to the Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas, which was released on Tuesday by the World Lung Foundation, Reuters reports (11/9).

10 Nov 2010

New York Times examines HIV prevention products undergoing clinical trials

The New York Times examines several products being studied in clinical trials that researchers hope will one day prevent sexual transmission of HIV. The newspaper describes the ongoing trials of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir which was found to reduce the risk of HIV infection in women by 39 percent, writing, "[o]ther clinical trials will report their results in 2011 and 2012 and, if all goes well, researchers hope to have a product or two ready to enter the market by 2013."

10 Nov 2010

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Saints Medical Center is pleased to announce that Richard H. Ma, M.D, chair of its hospitalist department, has received a patent for a lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes that will dramatically reduce hospital-acquired infections.

9 Nov 2010

Innovative method for in-cell gene manipulation

A cross-disciplinary Small Medicine and Advanced Research Translation (SMART) team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has announced a breakthrough in the precision in-cell gene scission at pre-designed sequence sites using Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissors (ATLANS) and a custom build photonic device.

9 Nov 2010

Researchers examine burden of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in China

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted disease among male clients of the commercial sex industry in China's Sichuan province

9 Nov 2010

S.A.N.E. Vax calls for federal approval of reliable HPV genotyping test in cervical cancer prevention programs

In a letter addressed to Dr. Harold E. Varmus, director of the NCI, and Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA commissioner, Ms. Norma Erickson, president of S.A.N.E. Vax, Inc., requested that these two federal agencies recommend a reliable human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping test to support the national virology-based cervical cancer prevention program for patient care. Erickson stated: "The NCI knows reliable HPV genotyping is based on using a PCR system with short target sequencing."

9 Nov 2010

ORVACS launches ERAMUNE 01 Phase II study to decrease HIV viral reservoirs

ORVACS has launched a Phase II study designed to test the hypotheses that combination therapy with potent antiviral agents and immunomodulator can lead to a decrease in the HIV viral reservoirs and, ultimately, to eradication of the virus. The study is currently being conducted at clinical sites in France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

9 Nov 2010

Anti-TNF therapy increases risk of varicella zoster virus infections

Anti tumor necrosis factor therapy increases the risk of developing varicella zoster virus infections, including shingles and chicken pox, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010

Research reveals EBV virus infected cell manipulates cancer-producing cells

A new discovery by UNC scientists describes how cells infected by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) produce small vesicles or sacs called exosomes, changing their cellular "cargo" of proteins and RNA. This altered exosome enters cells and can change the growth of recipient cells from benign to cancer-producing.

9 Nov 2010

Progenics third quarter net loss increases to $17.1 million

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its results of operations for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010.

8 Nov 2010

Officials discuss HIV/AIDS in Caribbean during PANCAP meeting

"Despite the gains associated with antiretroviral treatments (ART) over the last decade, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among young and middle-aged adults in the Caribbean, warns a new U.N. report" that was released during the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) that concluded on Tuesday, Inter Press Service reports (Richards, 11/3).

8 Nov 2010

Scientists identify genes that enable some immune systems to halt HIV; finding could spur drug, vaccine development

Tiny variants in a protein that alerts the body to infection could explain how one in 300 HIV-infected people are able to resist the onset of AIDS for years without needing any treatment, researchers said Thursday in a study published online in the journal Science, Agence France-Presse reports

8 Nov 2010

GeoVax receives $244,500 grant under QTDP program for HIV/AIDS vaccine development

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to developing vaccines that prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $244,500 related to its HIV/AIDS vaccine development activities under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project program.

8 Nov 2010

Inviragen to present data on CHIKV vaccine at ASTMH meeting

Inviragen, a biotechnology company developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases worldwide, together with investigators at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and the Division of Vector Borne Diseases (DVBD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will make an oral presentation today at the annual American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) meeting on preclinical results of the Company's experimental chikungunya virus (CHIKV) vaccine.

8 Nov 2010

Researchers take first step towards understanding of rare skin cancer

Leeds-based scientists, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research headquartered in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, plan to introduce the genetic material of a virus into normal human skin cells to produce skin cells that have features of Merkel Cell Carcinoma cancers.

8 Nov 2010

Skin to blood transformation in the lab

In a new study scientists have successfully transformed human skin cells into blood without first being sent through a primordial, stem-cell-like state. The findings were published online in the journal Nature. Earlier work has shown that fibroblast cells from mouse skin, treated with the right cocktail of chemicals, can be transformed into neurons and heart muscle. This is a first with human cells.

7 Nov 2010

Scientists identify events that causes AD progression

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have offered new information about the events that underlie the "spread" of Alzheimer's disease (AD) throughout the brain.

4 Nov 2010

World's most clinically advanced dengue vaccine candidate enters first phase 3 clinical study

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that its dengue vaccine is in final stage of clinical development. Sanofi Pasteur's dengue vaccine, the world's most clinically advanced dengue vaccine candidate, entered its first phase 3 clinical study in Australia.

4 Nov 2010