Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Scientists confirm HIV theory by sequencing 53-year old tissue

Researchers have extracted a near-complete HIV-1 genome from the lymph node tissue of a man who has been embedded in wax since 1966.

22 Jul 2019

How genetic differences in Epstein-Barr virus strains alter the way it behaves

Researchers at the University of Sussex have identified how differences in the genetic sequence of the two main strains of the cancer-associated Epstein-Barr virus can alter the way the virus behaves when it infects white blood cells.

19 Jul 2019

Study defines how diarrhea-causing rotavirus initially interacts with the host

Research by the Department of Microbiology of the University of Valencia, the Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia and the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology of the CSIC has defined the initial interaction of human rotavirus P [8] (the main cause of gastroenteritis) with the recipients of the intestine.

18 Jul 2019

WHO declares the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo a global health emergency

Ebola, the deadly viral infection, is spreading in Congo and the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced it as an international health emergency. Speaking in front of reporters, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave updates on the situation in the Central African country.

18 Jul 2019

Research opens possibility of developing single-dose gene therapy for inherited arrhythmias

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital report creating the first human tissue model of an inherited heart arrhythmia, replicating two patients' abnormal heart rhythms in a dish, and then suppressing the arrhythmia with gene therapy in a mouse model.

17 Jul 2019

Women's greater immune response to flu vaccine declines with age

Women tend to have a greater immune response to a flu vaccination compared to men, but their advantage largely disappears as they age and their estrogen levels decline, suggests a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

17 Jul 2019

Researchers find mechanism behind susceptibility to viral infections

A team of researchers from the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine Centre's Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre found that immune cells undergoing stress and an altered metabolism are the reasons why some individuals become sick from viral infections while others do not, when exposed to the same virus.

16 Jul 2019

Gut microbiota protects from viral-induced neurologic damage, study finds

Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study published today in eLife.

16 Jul 2019

HIV therapy leaves unrepaired holes in the immune system's wall of defense

If they don't receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), most HIV patients see a progressive weakening of their immune system.

16 Jul 2019

HIV DNA persists in spinal fluid despite treatment, linked to cognitive impairment

Many people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and using antiretroviral therapy (ART) may still have cells sheltering the virus lurking in the cerebrospinal fluid, a new study has found.

16 Jul 2019

HIV persists in spinal fluid even after long-term treatment and is linked to cognitive deficits

Even after nearly a decade of strict HIV treatment, cells sheltering the virus could be found in the cerebrospinal fluid of half of participants in a national clinical trial of people living with HIV.

16 Jul 2019

Even when HIV prevention drug is covered, other costs block treatment

Three years ago, Corey Walsh, who was in a relationship with a man who was HIV-positive, got a prescription for Truvada, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent infection with the virus that causes AIDS.

15 Jul 2019

Reprogramming cells to control HIV infection

Cells from the rare individuals who naturally control HIV infection have been the focus of investigation for nearly 15 years with the aim of elucidating their specific features.

14 Jul 2019

Nanotechnology-based compound used to deliver hepatitis B vaccine

Nanotechnology-based compounds are now being tested as a possible delivery vehicle for vaccines. A team of researchers demonstrated how the oral delivery vehicle SBA-15, one such nanotechnology-based compound can deliver an oral vaccine against hepatitis B to the immune system.

11 Jul 2019

An injection of nanoparticles for spinal cord injuries

Researchers from the University of Michigan used nanopaticles injection to prevent the immune cells of the body from impairing the healing of injured brain and spinal cord. They call this an “EpiPen” or emergency rescue drug for the brain and spinal cord when they suffer trauma.

11 Jul 2019

Scripps CHAVD wins $129 million NIH grant to advance new HIV vaccine approach

The Scripps Consortium for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development, an international collaboration led by Scripps Research, has received a $129 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance next-generation vaccines designed to coax the immune system into producing antibodies capable of disarming numerous strains of HIV.

11 Jul 2019

EPFL scientists create first world map of regions with highest hepatitis E prevalence

EPFL scientists have created the first world map of regions with the highest prevalence of the hepatitis E virus.

11 Jul 2019

PerkinElmer unveils CE-marked infectious disease immunoassays on EUROIMMUN random access instrument

PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, today announced the first two CE-marked chemiluminescence immunoassays (ChLIA) for the detection of anti-Borrelia (Lyme disease) and anti-EBV/EBNA (Epstein-Barr Virus) antibodies on its EUROIMMUN RA Analyzer 10 system.

From Revvity 11 Jul 2019

New shingles vaccine reduces outbreaks of painful rash among stem cell transplant patients

A newer form of shingles vaccine reduced outbreaks of the painful rash among patients who were transplanted with their own stem cells, according to a study led by a Duke Health researcher and published today in JAMA.

11 Jul 2019

Puzzling paralysis affecting healthy children warns CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that a series of rare and difficult to treat cases of paralysis are being seen in otherwise healthy children since 2018. This outbreak is 2018 may soon make a comeback in 2020 the organization warns doctors and paediatricians. The report was published in the CDC’s Vital Signs this week.

11 Jul 2019