Virus

A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only inside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of organisms: from animals and plants, to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 5,000 types of virus have been described in detail, although most types of virus remain undiscovered. Viruses are ubiquitous, as they are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, and are the most abundant type of biological entity on the planet. The study of viruses is known as virology, and is a branch of microbiology.

What is a Virus?

A virus is a small infectious agent that can only replicate inside the cells of another organism. The word is from the Latin ''virus'' referring to poison and other noxious substances, first used in English in 1392. ''Virulent'', from Latin ''virulentus'' (poisonous), dates to 1400. A meaning of "agent that causes infectious disease" is first recorded in 1728, The term ''virion'' is also used to refer to a single infective viral particle. The plural is "viruses".

Virus History

Virus Origins

Virus Microbiology

Virus Classification

Virus Infection in Other Species

Human Diseases Caused by Viruses

Virus Uses in Virology

Virus Purification Methods

What are Filoviruses?

Antiviral Immunity and COVID-19

Latest Virus News and Research

Study shows antibody responses persisting 10 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in Italy have conducted a study showing that patients who had tested positive for infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still had neutralizing antibodies against the virus 10 months later.

24 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 does not infect the entire body in the same way, finds study

COVID-19, the disease caused by the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is primarily regarded as a respiratory infection. Yet the virus has also become known for affecting other parts of the body in ways not as well understood, sometimes with longer-term consequences, such as heart arrhythmia, fatigue and "brain fog."

24 Feb 2021

A machine-learning approach to track how yellow fever mosquito moves through the environment

The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is a main vector of deadly diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya, and the Zika virus, which result in hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year.

24 Feb 2021

Household odorant smell tests could help detect COVID-19, say study

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and other institutions developed a new tool to help detect COVID-19 infection. The team developed and tested a real-time tool to measure olfactory perception impairment by asking the participants to smell household odorants.

24 Feb 2021

Risk models for West Nile Fever may predict areas of future outbreaks a year in advance

Knowing the environmental and human-related variables that characterize the favorable areas for the incidence of the West Nile virus, a flavivirus that is transmitted from birds to humans by mosquitoes, is essential to identify those places in Europe at high risk of experiencing outbreaks, even before these are registered, thus enabling preventive measures to be taken.

24 Feb 2021

GW team to play a role in Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

The George Washington University announced today its participation in a Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. GW was selected as one of approximately 25 sites in the United States to launch a phase 2 study for its adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers explore how N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral transmissibility

Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands have explored how and why new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have exhibited heightened infectivity.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

College students forced to relocate during COVID-19 pandemic are more likely to have depression

Numerous psychiatric studies have documented increased rates of depression and anxiety among those forced to relocate, with sudden moves often affecting individuals' social support and sense of identity and control.

24 Feb 2021

Exhaled breath from infected people can spread COVID-19

COVID-19 can spread from asymptomatic but infected people through small aerosol droplets in their exhaled breath. Most studies of the flow of exhaled air have focused on coughing or sneezing, which can send aerosols flying long distances.

24 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge during humoral immunity phase of acute COVID-19

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server reports the rapid emergence of variants within an infected individual. The evolution of the virus within an infected host is not excluded by the close similarity between the consensus sequences of single-person SARS-CoV-2, since the number of viral copies is at its peak soon after infection occurs and before the host develops adaptive immunity.

23 Feb 2021

Two potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies effective against B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 variants

By analyzing the cryoEM structures of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers report that the neutralizing capabilities of two antibodies are not affected by new strains as these antibodies target regions of the virus away from the ACE2 binding regions.

23 Feb 2021

TBE patients continue to be affected by long-term problems

Impaired memory, reduced motivation, and declining motor skills. These are some of the problems that may persist several years after people contract tick-borne encephalitis, a University of Gothenburg thesis shows.

23 Feb 2021

Largescale antibody testing could lower the scale of COVID-19 pandemic

Research from Queen's University Belfast suggests that largescale antibody testing could lower social activity and thus contagion of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

23 Feb 2021

Research predicts which mammal species can spread SARS-CoV-2

Scientists worldwide are fighting to contain the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has already claimed more than 2.48 million lives. Preventing spillback infections is essential to containing the pandemic. To do so, it is vital to understand the nature of the virus, i.e., its susceptibility to a range of hosts.

23 Feb 2021

Phase 1 clinical trial shows promising results for monoclonal antibodies against MERS coronavirus

A randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical trial of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against the coronavirus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) found that they were well tolerated and generally safe when administered simultaneously to healthy adults.

23 Feb 2021

Key mutation sites in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein modulate antibody and ACE2 affinity

A paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by researchers at Chapman University in California (Feb 22nd, 2021) utilized computational methods to screen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutants for affinity with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and monoclonal antibodies REG10987 and REG10933.

23 Feb 2021

Innate immune system overreacts in patients with severe COVID-19

In patients with severe COVID-19, the innate immune system overreacts. This overreaction may underlie the formation of blood clots (thrombi) and deterioration in oxygen saturation that affect the patients.

23 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mutations allow escape from clinical monoclonal antibodies

A new research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Jesse D. Bloom et al. (22nd Feb 2021) aims to map all of the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages with resistance towards LY-CoV555 and LY-CoV016, and document the specific mutations that confer resistance, ultimately suggesting that future monoclonal antibody cocktails should target a more diverse range of epitopes.

23 Feb 2021

GSK-3 inhibitors show promise in treating coronavirus infections

Researchers in the United States have suggested a new approach to treating infection with coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Feb 2021