Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

USDA NIFA awards NC State $25M grant to study human noroviruses

North Carolina State University will use a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to strengthen food safety by studying human noroviruses across the food supply chain in an effort to design effective control measures and reduce the number of virus-caused food-borne illnesses.

4 Aug 2011

Concentrated HIV epidemics emerging among MSM in Middle East, North Africa, study shows

Concentrated HIV epidemics are emerging among men who have sex with men in the Middle East and North Africa, "and high levels of risky sexual behavior threaten to spread the AIDS virus further in the region, researchers said Tuesday" in a study published in PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports.

4 Aug 2011

NIH, NanoBio sign licensing agreement to develop vaccine against RSV infections

NanoBio Corporation today announced a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that represents a significant step forward in developing the first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

4 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Geithner, Bowles, Simpson, Ryan, Vladeck, Wilensky on health spending and the deficit

The agreement sets up a powerful mechanism for agreement on tax reforms to strengthen growth, and entitlement reforms to strengthen programs such as Medicare. A congressional committee with fast-track authority will have a Nov. 23 deadline to recommend a balanced package of long-term reforms to produce $1.5 trillion in additional deficit reduction.

4 Aug 2011

NanoViricides to apply 'lead optimization technology' to anti-HIV candidate

NanoViricides, Inc. recently reported on its completed animal study that compared its lead anti-HIV candidate HIVCide™, to a HAART (highly active anti retroviral therapy) triple drug cocktail. The cocktail used therein is based on an anti-HIV therapeutic protocol in current practice. The Company has received numerous inquiries for simplified explanation of the results.

3 Aug 2011

Study looks at HIV infections in Middle East and North Africa

New research shows that sex between men (MSM - Men who have Sex with Men) is responsible for more than a quarter of new HIV infections in parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

3 Aug 2011

Positive results from Jennerex JX-594 proof-of-concept trial on metastatic melanoma

Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic products for cancer, today announced that positive results from a proof-of-concept clinical trial using JX-594 to treat patients with metastatic melanoma were published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Therapy.

2 Aug 2011

Alnylam second quarter revenue decreases to $20.6 million

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today reported its consolidated financial results for the second quarter 2011, and company highlights.

From Precision NanoSystems Inc. 2 Aug 2011

New birth control guidelines in U.S.

Planned parenting groups are cheering while some religious organizations are unhappy with the move that would require health insurance companies to provide women free birth control, in keeping with new Obama administration guidelines. The Department of Health and Human Services call it “historic” and also say that insurance companies must provide women with other preventive services free of charge.

1 Aug 2011

Preventive health services at no additional cost for women: HHS

Historic new guidelines that will ensure women receive preventive health services at no additional cost were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

1 Aug 2011

Positive results from Alnylam's ALN-VSP Phase I trial for liver cancer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has completed its Phase I study with ALN-VSP, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors with liver involvement.

1 Aug 2011

Universal flu vaccine based on “super antibody” coming soon

Researchers have finally found the first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus. The results of the experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment” for flu as well.

31 Jul 2011

Chronic fatigue researchers bullied, intimidated by protesters

British researchers who were focusing on psychological and mental issues linked to chronic fatigue syndrome have received death threats from protesters angry at their research area. The condition termed myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has been studied for many years now with unclear reasoning into its causation and pathology.

31 Jul 2011

Skin cancer vaccine on the way: Cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer

In a major medical breakthrough, cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer is on the verge of developing a vaccine against skin cancer within a year. The former ‘Australian of the Year’ and creator of the world's first cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has developed a world-first strategy to combat the insidious disease that affects two out of three Australians.

31 Jul 2011

Humira defect lawyers file lawsuit against Abbott in Texas state court

Humira defect lawyers filed a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories in Texas state court claiming Abbott's blockbuster drug, Humira, caused a life-threatening disease, leukemia.

30 Jul 2011

Caltech researchers find simple engineering technique to ward off HIV

If one is good, two can sometimes be better. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have certainly found this to be the case when it comes to a small HIV-fighting protein.

30 Jul 2011

ELPA, WHA announce educational program for hepatitis B patients

The European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) and the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), announced today on the 4th annual World Hepatitis Day that 'PATH B - "Patients and Professionals Acting Together for Hepatitis B" - My journey with chronic hepatitis B', a comprehensive educational resource designed to improve the lives of people living with chronic hepatitis B, is to be launched in August 2011.

29 Jul 2011

Studies reveal new set of mutations linked with head and neck cancer

Powerful new technologies that zoom in on the connections between human genes and diseases have illuminated the landscape of cancer, singling out changes in tumor DNA that drive the development of certain types of malignancies such as melanoma or ovarian cancer.

29 Jul 2011

WHO marks first-ever World Hepatitis Day

The WHO on Thursday marked the first-ever World Hepatitis Day, recognizing a disease that affects nearly one of every three people in the world, the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Jul 2011

UK MRC, Humabs discover first neutralizing antibody that targets all influenza A subtypes

A paper published today in the scientific research journal Science, describes a novel, proprietary monoclonal antibody (FI6) discovered in a collaboration between Humabs BioMed SA, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the UK Medical Research Council.

29 Jul 2011