Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Discovery of new bat flu strain with potential to infect other species

Scientists have identified a novel influenza A virus (H18N12) in fishing bats in the Colombian Caribbean, revealing genetic reassortment events that impact viral adaptability and host transmission.

25 Feb 2025

Can AI predict the next pandemic? A new study says yes

Researchers explore how artificial intelligence is transforming infectious disease modeling

25 Feb 2025

Study finds strong evidence that bird flu spreads through the air between farms

Researchers provided genetic and meteorological evidence suggesting that windborne transmission of HPAI H5N1 over 8 km is possible, highlighting its role in poultry farm outbreaks.

24 Feb 2025

Machine learning algorithm decodes immune system’s hidden data for disease detection

Your immune system harbors a lifetime's worth of information about threats it's encountered - a biological Rolodex of baddies.

24 Feb 2025

Study shows how herpes viruses contribute to Alzheimer's disease in aging brains

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Genome Center outlined the pathway human herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV1) can use to contribute to Alzheimer's disease in aging brains.

24 Feb 2025

T cells play key role in protecting children from severe dengue

Children who experience multiple cases of dengue virus develop an army of dengue-fighting T cells, according to a new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).

24 Feb 2025

CMV infection found to worsen necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants

Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in experiments with mice.

24 Feb 2025

Venom is everywhere: Study examines hidden toxin delivery systems across life forms

Forget snakes and spiders—a new review details venomous plants, fungi, and even bacteria, proving that nature's deadliest secret weapon is more widespread than we ever imagined.

23 Feb 2025

Why over 5 billion people still lack access to life-saving medical oxygen

The Lancet Global Health Commission highlights severe inequities in medical oxygen access, urging systemic reforms to ensure universal availability and affordability.

23 Feb 2025

Zika virus hijacks tunneling mechanism to infect placental cells

Infection with Zika virus in pregnancy can lead to neurological disorders, fetal abnormalities and fetal death. Until now, how the virus manages to cross the placenta, which nurtures the developing fetus and forms a strong barrier against microbes and chemicals that could harm the fetus, has not been clear.

22 Feb 2025

Discovery paves way for new hepatitis B treatment

In their effort to answer a decades-old biological question about how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection of liver cells, research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Weill Cornell Medicine, and The Rockefeller University identified a vulnerability that opens the door to new treatments.

22 Feb 2025

New genetic medicine offers life-changing vision improvements for blind children

Four young children have gained life-changing improvements in sight following treatment with a pioneering new genetic medicine through UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, with the support of MeiraGTx.

22 Feb 2025

New human antibody shows promise for Ebola virus treatment

New research led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) reveals the workings of a human antibody called mAb 3A6, which may prove to be an important component for Ebola virus therapeutics.

21 Feb 2025

Texas measles outbreak nears 100 cases, raising concerns about undetected spread

Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.

21 Feb 2025

Breakthrough discovery unveils potential treatment for hepatitis B

In their effort to answer a decades-old biological question about how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection of liver cells, research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Weill Cornell Medicine and The Rockefeller University identified a vulnerability that opens the door to new treatments.

20 Feb 2025

FDA ensures blood safety through five layers of safeguards

Every day, hospitals throughout the U.S. transfuse blood or blood components, such as platelets, to save the lives of people who are in car crashes, and victims of fires and other emergencies.

20 Feb 2025

New mpox variant can spread rapidly across borders

International researchers, including from DTU National Food Institute, warn that the ongoing mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the potential to spread across borders more rapidly.

20 Feb 2025

New HIV therapy lenacapavir shows high efficacy in Ugandan population

A multi-national, multi-institutional study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators found little natural resistance to a new HIV therapy called lenacapavir in a population of patients in Uganda.

19 Feb 2025

Infant exposure to herpes virus may cause memory problems later in life

Very early exposure to even a very small dose of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in infant mice can lead to cognitive decline later in life, according to findings from a new Dartmouth-led study, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School and published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

19 Feb 2025

F446L mutation in Lassa virus offers clues for new therapeutic approaches

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Lassa virus (LASV) glycoprotein complex (GPC) contains retained stable-signal peptide (SSP), glycoprotein 1 (GP1), and glycoprotein 2 (GP2).

19 Feb 2025