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

What is Vertical Transmission?

Latest Virus News and Research

UMass Amherst Ph.D. candidate receives USDA-NIFA fellowship for food allergy research

University of Massachusetts Amherst food science Ph.D. candidate Cassandra Suther has received a prestigious predoctoral fellowship of $180,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) to study the effect of norovirus on the development and severity of food allergies.

23 Jul 2021

Advantages and challenges of intranasal vaccines to fight against COVID-19 infections

There are many reasons that an intranasal vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be helpful in the fight against COVID-19 infections, University of Alabama at Birmingham immunologists Fran Lund, Ph.D., and Troy Randall, Ph.D., write in a viewpoint article in the journal Science.

23 Jul 2021

Blunted antiviral responses in the nasopharynx may underlie severe COVID-19

The body's first encounter with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, happens in the nose and throat, or nasopharynx. A new study in the journal Cell suggests that the first responses in this battleground help determine who will develop severe disease and who will get through with mild or no illness.

23 Jul 2021

Researchers discover camelid-derived two nanobodies that target SARS-CoV-2

A new study has been published on the bioRxiv* preprint server, which has identified and characterized two RBD-targeting neutralizing nanobodies, namely, DL4 and DL28.

23 Jul 2021

Researchers use mass spectrometry to study immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 epitopes

A new study has been published on the bioRxiv* preprint server, which has used MS to identify T cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 conserved protein, i.e., the membrane glycol protein (MGP) and the non-structure protein-13 (NSP13).

23 Jul 2021

Clinical trials during a pandemic – lessons from COVID-19

In this interview, Dr. Benedicte Roquebert, Dr. Stephanie Haim-Boukobza and Dr. Souad Mehlal discuss how COVID-19 has resulted in new ways to think about clinical trials during a pandemic.

From Cerba Research 23 Jul 2021

Researchers identify an unexpected effect for already characterized active substances

Every innovative drug starts with the search for an active substance targeting key players in disease-related processes.

23 Jul 2021

CDC monitoring over 200 individuals possibly exposed to monkeypox

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring over 200 people who may have been exposed to the monkeypox virus.

22 Jul 2021

Synergistic multi-antibody cocktail protects against SARS-CoV-2 in animal model

Researchers in Canada have reported the discovery of a multi-antibody cocktail that synergistically protected against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an animal model of acute infection.

22 Jul 2021

Llama ‘nanobodies’ have the potential to outwit human cytomegalovirus

Scientists have developed a 'nanobody' - a small fragment of a llama antibody - that is capable of chasing out human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as it hides away from the immune system.

22 Jul 2021

Study in France suggests high efficacy of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

A nationwide case-control study conducted in France has assessed the efficacy of mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines against original severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, including B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P1.

22 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 reprograms host chromatic network to induce immune dysfunction

A recent study conducted at the University of Texas Science Center, Houston, in the USA, has revealed that upon infection, SARS-CoV-2 alters the host chromatin architecture to suppress antiviral interferon-responsive genes and augment inflammatory genes. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

22 Jul 2021

Can prior human seasonal coronavirus antibody response patterns predict SARS-CoV-2 inhibition?

A new study, recently released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, reports the intriguing finding that the cross-neutralizing antibodies elicited by human seasonal coronaviruses (sCoVs) show varying ability to prevent binding between the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen and its cognate receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

22 Jul 2021

Pfizer vaccine and isolation independently associated with reduced household transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Israel was among the leading proponents of COVID-19 vaccination as the way out of the current worldwide restrictions on social and economic interactions and activity. A new study, recently released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, reports on the effects of the large-scale vaccination campaigns carried out in this country, relating to successful control of SARS-CoV-2 spread within households.

22 Jul 2021

Scientists restore memory in aging mice

Scientists at Cambridge and Leeds have successfully reversed age-related memory loss in mice and say their discovery could lead to the development of treatments to prevent memory loss in people as they age.

22 Jul 2021

Wildfire smoke drives people in low-vaccinated areas indoors, raising outbreak fears

Missoula's new downtown library was teeming with people who might typically spend a Saturday afternoon hiking, biking or otherwise making the most of Montana's abundant outdoor recreation. One look at the soupy haze blanketing the city and it was clear why.

22 Jul 2021

Epstein-Barr virus reactivation may play a role in long COVID and severe COVID-19 cases

Two recently published studies available on the National Institutes of Health website indicate Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation may play a role both in the development of long COVID symptoms, as well as severe COVID-19 cases.

22 Jul 2021

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutations L452R & Y453F evade cellular immunity

The study, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, also showed emerging mutations L452R and Y453F in the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding motif evade (HLA) A24-restricted cellular immunity. Meanwhile, the L452R enhances spike stability, viral fusogenicity, and viral infectivity. Hence, the findings suggest that HLA-restricted cellular immunity potentially affects the evolution of viral phenotypes.

22 Jul 2021

Scientist explore conserved RNA elements as potential targets for anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs

The study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, identified many small molecules that bind to certain parts of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are less likely altered by mutations using dedicated substance libraries. The scientists derived key functional units and groups in ligands for effective and safe targeting of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

22 Jul 2021

Two-dose regimen of mRNA vaccines provides protection against Alpha and Beta variants in France

Over the past six months, the World Health Organization has categorized four SARS-CoV-2 variants as being "of concern" because they are more transmissible or may escape the immune response.

22 Jul 2021