Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Study shows urgent need for long-term follow up of Zika-exposed infants

Even as the Zika virus raged in Brazil, clinicians observed a curious phenomenon: all babies born to mothers infected with the virus during pregnancy were not affected with the characteristic birth anomalies caused by this infection.

5 Aug 2019

Paradoxical outcomes for infants exposed to Zika in utero

In the midst of an unprecedented Zika crisis in Brazil, there were a few flickers of hope: Some babies appeared to be normal at birth, free of devastating birth defects that affected other Brazilian children exposed to the virus in utero.

5 Aug 2019

Primary DENV or ZIKV infection has no effect on course of secondary infection in macaques

Previous infection with either Zika virus or dengue virus has no apparent effect on the clinical course of subsequent infection with the other virus, according to a study published August 1 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by David O'Connor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues.

5 Aug 2019

Human breath carries information that may aid in diagnosis

Human breath carries a breadth of information, and KAUST research scientist Osama Amin has partnered with KAUST's Mohamed-Slim Alouini and Basem Shihada and colleagues Maryam Khliad and Said Ahmed at Information Technology University, Pakistan, to harness that information.

5 Aug 2019

New tool makes it easier to study how influenza viruses cause disease

Studying how influenza viruses cause disease just got a little easier, thanks to a new tool developed at South Dakota State University.

3 Aug 2019

Discovery of unusual HBV in shrews offers new opportunity to better understand the disease

The discovery of an unusual hepatitis B virus from shrews offers new opportunities of better understanding the chronic progression of the disease. International research teams were able to demonstrate that an important protein which is essential for the development of a chronic course of infection is not present in this virus.

3 Aug 2019

Researchers discover elastic polymer with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that an elastic polymer possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, allowing it to kill a range of viruses and drug-resistant bacteria in just minutes - including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

2 Aug 2019

New drug combination successfully reduces levels of bovine leukemia virus

Scientists have succeeded in reducing levels of the bovine leukemia virus in cows with severe infections by combining an immune checkpoint inhibitor and an enzyme inhibitor.

2 Aug 2019

Combination of vaccine and medicated cream can reduce recurrence of genital herpes

Yale investigators have shown that the combination of a vaccine and a medicated cream is a promising strategy to dramatically reduce the recurrence of genital herpes.

2 Aug 2019

Congo’s Ebola outbreak continues rampant

It was a year ago that the Ebola virus outbreak in the Congo became official. And far from subsiding, just two weeks ago it became “a public health emergency of international concern”. More than 2,600 cases have been confirmed and over 1,800 deaths in the affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A third of these are children.

1 Aug 2019

Children born with HIV less likely to adhere to medications as they age, study finds

Children born with HIV in the U.S. were less likely to adhere to their medications as they aged from preadolescence to adolescence and into young adulthood, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

31 Jul 2019

Early neuroimaging essential for Zika-exposed infants

Seventy-one of 110 Brazilian infants at the highest risk for experiencing problems due to exposure to the Zika virus in the womb experienced a wide spectrum of brain abnormalities, including calcifications and malformations in cortical development, according to a study published July 31, 2019 in JAMA Network Open.

31 Jul 2019

Study reveals the complexities of viral evolution

Comparing a living cell to a virus is a bit like comparing the Sistine Chapel to a backyard dog house. Lacking the intricate machinery of living cells, viruses represent biology stripped down to an extreme level. They are the true minimalists of the biological world.

31 Jul 2019

Smartphone ‘virus scanner’ could help governments contain viral outbreaks

Researchers have created and tested a miniature virus-scanning device for smartphones that is 100 times more sensitive than commercial influenza testing kits.

31 Jul 2019

Smartphone virus scanner could help tackle the spread of diseases

The current leading method to assess the presence of viruses and other biological markers of disease is effective but large and expensive. It is prohibitively difficult for use in many situations, especially due to certain economic and geographic factors.

31 Jul 2019

Scientists discover lung cell that can hustle to repair its damaged DNA and survive influenza

Scientists at Duke University have identified one kind of lung cell that can hustle to repair its damaged DNA and survive an attack of the influenza A virus while other kinds of cells around it die in droves.

30 Jul 2019

Researchers discover SIGN-R1 molecule that recognizes multiple variants of influenza

A team of researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, affiliated to USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland) have discovered and identified a molecule - SIGN-R1 - capable of recognizing the multiple variants of influenza and consequently 'directing' the immune response in individuals affected by the disease.

30 Jul 2019

90% of hepatitis cases, 65% hepatitis deaths preventable by 2030

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 4.5 million deaths could be prevented by 2030, and 26 million beyond that, if 67 countries in the low- and middle-income bracket invest $6 billion a year towards abolishing hepatitis. Hepatitis is a completely preventable and treatable illness at present, and in fact, hepatitis C is completely curable.

29 Jul 2019

New gene-editing study finds protective genes against Zika virus

Tel Aviv scientists have discovered certain genes that protect the host organism against attack by Zika virus, raising hopes of an eventual vaccine or cure for this dreaded viral disease.

28 Jul 2019

Study reveals mechanism that may contribute to HIV-associated metabolic conditions

HIV-infected cells release vesicles that contain a viral protein called Nef, impairing cholesterol metabolism and triggering inflammation in uninfected bystander cells, according to a study published July 25 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Dmitri Sviridov of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 26 Jul 2019