Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Innovative nanopore system enables controlled DNA unzipping

DNA holds the instructions that make us who we are. If we want to read those instructions, say to understand our predisposition to genetic disorders, we need to carefully 'unzip' DNA's iconic double-helix structure.

30 Jul 2025

Genetic profiling offers hope for understanding multiple sclerosis risk

In a major step towards early detection, University of South Australia researchers are investigating the biology behind multiple sclerosis (MS) to help predict people's genetic risk of developing the disease, long before any symptoms appear.

29 Jul 2025

Rising liver cancer rates highlight need for urgent action worldwide

The majority of liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing levels of viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption and MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease – previously called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), suggests an analysis as part of The Lancet Commission on liver cancer.

29 Jul 2025

Bacterial self-defense may hold clues to tackling antibiotic resistance

Researchers at the University of Southampton have worked out how bacteria defend themselves against viruses called phages and the new insights could be key to tackling antibiotic resistance.

28 Jul 2025

Dental floss may offer a novel vaccine delivery method

Researchers have demonstrated a novel vaccine delivery method in an animal model, using dental floss to introduce vaccine via the tissue between the teeth and gums.

28 Jul 2025

Common plant virus shows powerful potential as cancer immunotherapy

A virus that typically infects black-eyed peas is showing great promise as a low-cost, potent cancer immunotherapy-and researchers are uncovering why.

28 Jul 2025

Global vaccination effort saved 2.5 million lives from SARS-CoV-2

Thanks to vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 in the period 2020-2024 2.533 million deaths were prevented at global level, one death was avoided for every 5,400 doses of vaccine administered. The 82% of the lives saved by vaccines involved people vaccinated before encountering the virus, 57% during the Omicron period, and 90% involved people aged 60 years and older. In all, vaccines have saved 14.8 million years of life (one year of life saved for 900 doses of vaccine administered).

28 Jul 2025

Study finds past H1N1 exposure shields animals from deadly H5N1

Preexisting immunity to the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus provided near-complete protection against severe H5N1 disease and transmission in ferrets, even after high-dose exposure. In contrast, H3N2 immunity alone offered only partial, inconsistent protection.

28 Jul 2025

New model predicts mRNA protein production, accelerating drug and vaccine discovery

A new artificial intelligence model can improve the process of drug and vaccine discovery by predicting how efficiently specific mRNA sequences will produce proteins, both generally and in various cell types. The new advance, developed through an academic-industrial partnership between The University of Texas at Austin and Sanofi, helps predict how much protein cells will produce, which can minimize the need for trial-and-error experimentation, accelerating the next generation of mRNA therapeutics.

26 Jul 2025

Research uncovers ME/CFS's systemic impact for targeted therapies

Millions suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating condition often overlooked due to the lack of diagnostic tools, may be closer to personalized care, according to new research that shows how the disease disrupts interactions between the microbiome, immune system, and metabolism.

26 Jul 2025

New study uncovers how prior obesity impacts viral consequences

A study comparing the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in lean and obese primates found different long-term consequences of the virus depending on prior obesity and metabolic disease. The results, which also highlighted how widespread long COVID symptoms are in animals, were published July 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Charles Roberts of Oregon Health & Science University, USA, and colleagues.

25 Jul 2025

IRF-5 identified as key to preventing immune cell exhaustion

In fighting chronic infections or certain cancers, CD8+ T cells-the immune system's frontline soldiers-eventually become exhausted. They lose effectiveness and respond less efficiently to threats.

24 Jul 2025

New study reveals high lifetime exposure to hepatitis B and C in Ukraine

A study just published on Eurosurveillance has found evidence of substantial lifetime exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses in Ukraine in a 2021 nationwide, representative sample of the population, with findings also suggesting significant ongoing circulation of these viruses.

24 Jul 2025

CoVerage outperforms rivals in early detection of COVID mutations

The CoVerage system monitors SARS-CoV-2 evolution, predicting variants and scoring amino acid changes to inform vaccine efficacy and public health strategies.

24 Jul 2025

Study reveals pandemic life made brains age faster, even without catching COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated biological brain aging in older adults by an average of 5.5 months over less than three years, regardless of infection status. Social disruption, age, male sex, and socioeconomic disadvantage heightened vulnerability, while only infected individuals showed measurable declines in executive function.

23 Jul 2025