Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Bat influenza viruses could potentially attack the cells of humans and livestock

Bats don't only carry the deadly Ebola virus, but are also a reservoir for a new type of influenza virus.

20 Feb 2019

First gene therapy operation for macular degeneration is a success

A new treatment is the first to target the underlying genetic cause of AMD, which affects more than 600,000 people in the UK alone.

20 Feb 2019

Researchers take closer look at how viruses bind cells and cause infection

Researchers at Cardiff University have used x-ray crystallography and computer simulation to get a closer look at how viruses bind cells and cause infection.

20 Feb 2019

Newly developed gene therapy helps decelerate aging process

Aging is a leading risk factor for a number of debilitating conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease, to name a few. This makes the need for anti-aging therapies all the more urgent. Now, Salk Institute researchers have developed a new gene therapy to help decelerate the aging process.

20 Feb 2019

Study reveals how helper T cells support memory cells to function optimally

The immune system's killer T cells are crucial in fighting viral infections. A fraction of them, called 'memory cells', live on once infection is controlled in order to fight re-infection by the same virus. They are of great interest as the basis of T cell-based vaccination and immunotherapies.

20 Feb 2019

Anti-cancer immunotherapy could be used to fight HIV

Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre have shown that immunotherapy treatments against cancer could reduce the amount of virus that persists in people on triple therapy.

19 Feb 2019

Influenza and common cold are completely different diseases, study shows

There is a lack of information about the difference between influenza, "real" flu, and the common cold. Most people struggle to distinguish between these two diseases and this often leads to irritation and the perpetuation of myths.

19 Feb 2019

CRISPR technology creates pluripotent stem cells that are 'invisible' to the immune system

UC San Francisco scientists have used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system to create the first pluripotent stem cells that are functionally "invisible" to the immune system, a feat of biological engineering that, in laboratory studies, prevented rejection of stem cell transplants.

18 Feb 2019

Large-scale clinical trial begins to study liver transplantation between people with HIV

The first large-scale clinical trial to study liver transplantation between people with HIV has begun at clinical centers across the United States. The HOPE in Action Multicenter Liver Study will determine the safety of this practice by evaluating liver recipients for potential transplant-related and HIV-related complications following surgery.

15 Feb 2019

Sleep could be the best medicine to fight off an infection

Sleep has been underrated as the best medicine to fight off disease say researchers working on a new study. The study titled, “Gαs-Coupled Receptor Signaling and Sleep Regulate Integrin Activation of Human Antigen-Specific T Cells,” was published this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

14 Feb 2019

Misconceptions surrounding HPV are causing women to miss smear tests

A survey has found that a “concerning” level of misunderstanding and stigma surrounding HPV could be putting women off going for cervical smear tests.

13 Feb 2019

New study provides insights into developmental organization of the brain

What makes us human, and where does this mysterious property of "humanness" come from? Humans are genetically similar to chimpanzees and bonobos, yet there exist obvious behavioral and cognitive differences.

13 Feb 2019

New process efficiently reprograms stem cells in one step using measles virus vector

Induced pluripotent stem cells, the workhorse of many regenerative medicine projects, start out as differentiated cells that are reprogrammed to pluripotent stem cells by exposure to a complex set of genetic cocktails.

13 Feb 2019

Study estimates value of investing in antibiotic to reduce repercussion in influenza pandemic

There have been roughly three global pandemic influenza outbreaks each century for the past four hundred years, each of which have resulted in larger numbers of infections and deaths.

13 Feb 2019

Social stigmas surrounding HPV could put women off going for cervical screening

The social stigmas and myths surrounding the human papilloma virus (HPV) could make women anxious, including raising fears about their partners' fidelity and putting them off going for cervical screening, according to research presented at Cancer Research UK's Early Diagnosis Conference in Birmingham today.

12 Feb 2019

Researchers uncover new mechanism of how Ebola viruses escape immune system

A research team from Tübingen and Göttingen has described in the renowned journal Cell Reports a new mechanism how the Ebola virus escapes the immune system.

12 Feb 2019

HPV not likely to be transmitted through the hand, shows study

Commonly known as HPV, Human papillomavirus is a virus that infects the skin and genital area, in many cases leading to a variety of genital, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers in men and women. Strong evidence exists showing that penetrative genital sex and oral sex can transmit HPV.

12 Feb 2019

New technique uses acoustic waves to measure the stiffness of living cells

MIT engineers have devised a new, noninvasive way to measure the stiffness of living cells using acoustic waves. Their technique allows them to monitor single cells over several generations and investigate how stiffness changes as cells go through the cell division cycle.

11 Feb 2019

Study can have implications in the vaccination policies against Hepatitis A

Researchers of the University of Barcelona have analyzed, with massive sequencing techniques for the first time, the evolution of the Hepatitis A virus with samples from patients.

11 Feb 2019

Immunotherapy may be better than chemotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma

The first study of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab as the initial treatment for patients with a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma reports better responses and longer survival than expected with conventional chemotherapy.

11 Feb 2019