Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Flusurvey to offer self-administered nasal swab to all participants

People taking part in this year’s Flusurvey, the UK’s biggest crowd-sourced study of influenza will for the first time be offered a swab to confirm if their symptoms are caused by a flu virus or not as part of a new collaboration with i-sense. Data from social media and internet searches will also be combined with Flusurvey, allowing flu trends to be monitored across the UK more accurately and earlier than ever before.

20 Nov 2014

Gene therapy transforms life for men with severe form of hemophilia B

Gene therapy developed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, University College London and the Royal Free Hospital has transformed life for men with a severe form of hemophilia B by providing a safe, reliable source of the blood clotting protein Factor IX that has allowed some to adopt a more active lifestyle, researchers reported.

19 Nov 2014

New method could make Ebola surveillance quicker, cheaper for West African nations

A new method for examining the Ebola virus genome could make surveillance quicker and cheaper for West African nations, and help detect new forms of the virus. The detailed procedure is being shared with the research community along with the study paper, which is freely available in the open access journal Genome Biology.

19 Nov 2014

Researchers find drug combination that reduces risk of skin graft rejection

A research team bringing together José Cohen and Philippe Grimbert (Inserm Unit 955/Université Paris Est Créteil [UPEC] and the Centre for Clinical Investigation - Biotherapies 504 [CIC-BT 504]), and their collaborators at Institut Curie and AP-HP (George Pompidou European Hospital) has succeeded in finding a combination of drugs that reduces the risk of rejection following a skin graft.

19 Nov 2014

'Spillover' of henipaviruses into humans underway, study finds

Another family of viruses, deadly in some cases, may have already jumped from fruit bats into humans in Africa, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. The study provides the first, preliminary scientific evidence that "spillover" of henipaviruses into human populations is underway.

19 Nov 2014

TSRI scientists reveal how ZMapp antibodies target Ebola virus

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified weak spots on the surface of Ebola virus that are targeted by the antibodies in ZMapp, the experimental drug cocktail administered to several patients during the recent Ebola outbreak.

19 Nov 2014

Scientists find cells responsible for memory problems after sleep loss

Sleep is a critical period for memory consolidation, and most people don't get enough. Research has shown that even brief periods of sleep deprivation can lead to deficits in memory formation.

18 Nov 2014

Scientists call for public to help monitor spread of flu across the UK

People taking part in this year's Flusurvey, the UK's biggest crowd-sourced study of influenza will for the first time be offered a swab to confirm if their symptoms are caused by a flu virus or not as part of a new collaboration with i-sense. Data from social media and internet searches will also be combined with Flusurvey, allowing flu trends to be monitored across the UK more accurately and earlier than ever before.

18 Nov 2014

Strategy to stem infections in livestock, endangered species

When a viral infection spread through five genetically identical mice in a row, the virus replicated faster and became more virulent or severe. But when the infection spread one-by-one through five genetically diverse mice, the virus had trouble adapting and became less virulent.

18 Nov 2014

Scientists identify how ADAR1 gene mutation can lead to diseases

Scientists have discovered how a gene mutation can lead to diseases that occur when the immune system attacks the body by mistake.

18 Nov 2014

Three-day global symposium on Ebola virus, other infectious diseases

The 11th annual International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV) symposium, Infectious Diseases: Global Public-Health Challenges of the Next Decade, will put the challenges posed by several infectious diseases under the microscope, including the Ebola virus, the H7N9 influenza virus, MERS coronavirus and dengue viruses, as well as drug-resistant tuberculosis.

18 Nov 2014

New oral medication shows promise in treating fibromyalgia

A new oral medication known as IMC-1, developed by Innovative Med Concepts, proved highly effective at reducing pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) in patients in a recent clinical trial.

18 Nov 2014

New look at the workings of HIV, other viruses

UC Davis researchers are getting a new look at the workings of HIV and other viruses thanks to new techniques in electron microscopy developed on campus.

18 Nov 2014

Bacterial protein flagellin can prevent and cure rotavirus infection

Activation of the innate immune system with the bacterial protein flagellin could prevent and cure rotavirus infection, which is among the most common causes of severe diarrhea, says a Georgia State University research team that described the method as a novel means to prevent and treat viral infection.

14 Nov 2014

Experts focus on key issues impeding delivery of cardiac care in resource-limited settings

Critical care is defined by life-threatening conditions, which require close evaluation, monitoring, and treatment by appropriately trained health professionals. Cardiovascular care bears these same requirements.

14 Nov 2014

Chemotherapy drug combined with cancer-killing virus may treat recurrent ovarian cancer

In six out of 10 cases, ovarian cancer is diagnosed when the disease is advanced and five-year survival is only 27 percent.

14 Nov 2014

Montefiore Medical Center receives $3.5M grant to advance treatment for hepatitis C

Montefiore Medical Center received a $3.5 million grant as part of the $10 million Health Care Innovation Award from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services to identify, diagnose and treat people with hepatitis C (HCV).

13 Nov 2014

Study reveals the origin of world's AIDS pandemic

A study published in Science magazine reveals for the first time where, when and how the world's AIDS pandemic originated. Thanks to a statistical analysis of all the genetic data available on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), an international research team has just confirmed that the scourge broke out in 1920 in Kinshasa, the capital of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

13 Nov 2014

New treatment regimen for hepatitis C in transplant patients produces promising results

A new treatment regimen for hepatitis C, the most common cause of liver cancer and transplantation, has produced results that will transform treatment protocols for transplant patients, according to research published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Nov 2014

Effecting changes to FosB gene could help control addiction, depression

Regulation of a single, specific gene in a brain region related to drug addiction and depression is sufficient to reduce drug and stress responses, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published October 27 online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

12 Nov 2014