Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

AHF denounces Obama administration plan to address AIDS drug crisis with $25M

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, will host a press teleconference tomorrow, Thursday, July 8th at 10:00 AM Pacific/1:00 PM Eastern, to denounce an Obama administration plan to address AIDS drug crisis with an insufficient $25 million as "too little, too late."

8 Jul 2010

MicroRNA-212 plays key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction: Study

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have found that a particular type of genetic material plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction and may offer an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapies. In animal studies, the scientists found that a molecule called microRNA-212 was increased in the brains of test animals that had extended access to cocaine.

8 Jul 2010

Scientists use genetically reprogrammed herpes virus to shrink distant sarcomas

Scientists have used a genetically reprogrammed herpes virus and an anti-vascular drug to shrink spreading distant sarcomas designed to model metastatic disease in mice - still an elusive goal when treating humans with cancer, according to a study in the July 8 Gene Therapy.

8 Jul 2010

Report investigates clear cell ICC

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer of the bile duct in the liver. The clear cell subtype of ICC is a rare cancer; until now, only 8 cases have been reported. The number of reports is so small that a detail description of clear cell ICC is valuable.

8 Jul 2010

FDA approves Beech Tree Labs' IND for Phase 1/2a clinical evaluation of BTL-TML-HSV

Beech Tree Labs, Inc., announced today that the FDA has approved its IND for a Phase 1/2a clinical evaluation of BTL-TML-HSV, a novel therapeutic agent for treating recurrent oral herpes infections. The study will be a 210 patient, multi-site, placebo-controlled trial and is anticipated to begin later this summer.

8 Jul 2010

Brain fever mistaken as migraine kills a 30 year old woman

Jane Harrop, a 30 year old British woman was complaining of headaches for several days that made her feel “drunk”. She was diagnosed to be suffering from migraine but died two days later from a viral infection of the brain.

7 Jul 2010

Codex Alimentarius Commission provides new guidance to help improve food safety

The maximum amount of melamine allowed in powdered infant formula is 1 mg/kg and the amount of the chemical allowed in other foods and animal feed is 2.5 mg/kg, according to new rulings from the United Nations' food standards body, Codex Alimentarius Commission.

7 Jul 2010

Map of herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" provides new target for antiviral drugs

The mechanism by which a herpes virus invades cells has remained a mystery to scientists seeking to thwart this family of viruses. New research funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in advance of print in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology reveals the unusual structure of the protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells. This detailed map of a key piece of the herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" gives scientists a new target for antiviral drugs.

7 Jul 2010

TWINCORE researchers develop new model approaches for HCV research

The hepatitis C virus is highly specialised. We humans are its natural hosts. The only other living organisms that could be infected with the hepatitis C virus in the lab are chimpanzees. Nevertheless it is - from the viewpoint of the virus - highly successful: around 170 million people are chronically infected with the virus. And with the chronic infection the risk of developing liver cancer also increases.

7 Jul 2010

Scientists discover nanoparticle to deliver DNA with minimum toxic effect

In lab experiments, the researchers have found that this device, a vector, is able to deliver DNA deeply enough into a cell to allow genetic material to be activated - a critical step in gene therapy. This vector is between 2 - and 10 times more effective than other experimental materials, according to the research.

7 Jul 2010

International conference focuses on HPV's impact on women

Scientists, clinicians and public health leaders from around the world are gathered in Montreal this week for the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference where they hope to generate awareness about human papillomavirus, Canwest News Service/Gazette reports (Martin/McCallum, 7/4).

7 Jul 2010

Bacteria that will kill Dengue bearing mosquitoes on the way

Dengue is a deadly viral fever spread by mosquito bites that kills thousands around the world each year. Now researchers from James Cook University and University of Queensland are working on a bacterium called Wolbachia that can stop the spread of this virus.

6 Jul 2010

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals receives FDA expanded labeling for INFERGEN

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC, today received expanded labeling from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include daily use of INFERGEN (Consensus Interferon) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) for retreatment of chronic hepatitis C patients. The expanded labeling targets hepatitis C patients who need retreatment.

6 Jul 2010

Preclinical efficacy data of Sangamo's ZFN based human stem cell therapy for HIV published

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced the publication of data demonstrating the preclinical efficacy of a human stem cell therapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) based on its proprietary zinc finger DNA-binding protein nuclease (ZFN) technology.

6 Jul 2010

Wellcome-Wolfson Capital Awards initiative invests over 30M in large-scale university infrastructure projects

Over -30 million is being invested into large-scale university infrastructure projects courtesy of the Wellcome-Wolfson Capital Awards initiative.

3 Jul 2010

Clemizole can yield high-level synergy with protease inhibitor class: Research

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies, announced today the publication of research from the lab of Stanford scientist and Eiger Founder, Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues entitled, "The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS4B RNA Binding Inhibitor Clemizole is Highly Synergistic with HCV Protease Inhibitors".

2 Jul 2010

Virus related to hepatitis C discovered in Asian bats

Viral hepatitis affects more than 500 million people worldwide and is a cause of liver failure and liver cancer. While vaccines are available for hepatitis A and B, this is not the case for hepatitis C, which affects as much as two percent of the population in the U.S. Scientists today are reporting discovery of a virus related to hepatitis C in Asian bats, which may provide insights into the origins of the hepatitis C virus and into the mechanisms by which infectious diseases move from other species to humans.

2 Jul 2010

Adding nutrients could improve efficiency of deep sea biological pump

Adding nutrients to the sea could decrease viral infection rates among phytoplankton and enhance the efficiency of the biological pump, a means by which carbon is transferred from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, according to a new mathematical modelling study. The findings, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, have implications for ocean geo-engineering schemes proposed for tackling global warming.

2 Jul 2010

New York Times: AIDS drug program has growing waiting list

The New York Times: "The weak economy is crippling the government program that provides life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs to people with H.I.V. or AIDS who cannot afford them. Nearly 1,800 have been relegated to rapidly expanding waiting lists that less than three years ago had dwindled to zero. ...

2 Jul 2010

AHF members urge Congress to honor AIDS funding commitment

Five AIDS treatment clients and medical care providers from Uganda are visiting Washington, DC for a series of over 50 meetings this week on Capitol Hill with Senate and Congressional leaders to lobby Congress to honor the US' landmark commitment to PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program.

2 Jul 2010