Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

WHO underestimates coronavirus' transmissibility

The coronavirus probably has a stronger ability to spread than the World Health Organization has estimated so far. This according to a review of previous studies of the coronavirus' transmissibility performed not least by researchers at Umeå University in Sweden.

14 Feb 2020

Effectiveness of travel bans to control infectious disease outbreaks is mostly unknown

Because of the quick and deadly outbreak in late December of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, now known as COVID-19 – infecting tens of thousands and killing hundreds within weeks, while spreading to at least 24 other countries – many governments, including the United States, have banned or significantly restricted travel to and from China.

14 Feb 2020

Study finds inadequate testing for Tennessee infants exposed to hepatitis C

Most Tennessee infants exposed to hepatitis C at birth are not later tested to see if they acquired the virus, according to a study by researchers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.

14 Feb 2020

New study describes inflammatory reaction in lab-developed human astrocytes

Astrocytes are neural cells with many important functions in the nervous system. The inflammation of these cells occurs in brain infections and neurodegenerative disorders, a process called astrogliosis.

14 Feb 2020

Facts vs. fears: Five things to help weigh your coronavirus risk

The news about the novel coronavirus in China grows more urgent daily. The number of related deaths is now greater than 1,300, while tens of thousands of people have been infected — most of them in China. People returning to the U.S. from China are quarantined for 14 days.

14 Feb 2020

Experimental antiviral prevents MERS-CoV in rhesus macaques

The experimental antiviral remdesivir successfully prevented disease in rhesus macaques infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists.

13 Feb 2020

Is the coronavirus disease outbreak slowing down?

Chinese officials recorded the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks, supporting a medical adviser’s projection that the outbreak may end by April. Is the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ending soon?

13 Feb 2020

Coronavirus tests public health infrastructure in the heartland

Every weekday at noon since Jan. 27, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams gathers his outbreak response team for a meeting on coronavirus.

13 Feb 2020

Coronavirus spread will remain under control and specific groups should not be stigmatized, urges microbiologist

As the global outbreak of coronavirus continues to dominate the headlines, a leading medical microbiologist from Kingston University says it is inevitable the United Kingdom will see more cases, but emphasized the spread of the virus will remain under control and called on people not to stigmatize particular communities.

13 Feb 2020

To fight Chinese outbreak, doctors deploy drugs targeting HIV, malaria and Ebola

As the scientific community scrambles to find a drug that can effectively treat tens of thousands of patients sickened by a new respiratory virus, they are trying some surprising remedies: medicines targeting known killers like HIV, Ebola and malaria.

13 Feb 2020

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

There is currently no evidence that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes severe adverse outcomes in neonates or that it can pass to the child while in the womb, according to a small observational study of women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

12 Feb 2020

Study gives clues on how to stop HIV reemergence

A new study released today in the Journal of Virology gives insights into how the HIV-1 virus, which often persists in the body despite antiretroviral treatment, reemerges when treatment stops. More importantly, the study also gives clues on how to stop this reemergence from occurring.

12 Feb 2020

Minigenes produced by CRISPR combat liver disease in mice

A new gene-editing technique based on CRISPR was used to successfully avoid the development of a liver disease that can be caused by hundreds of mutations, as well as to ease the symptoms in mice. This proof-of-concept study was published online in the journal Science Advances in February 2020.

12 Feb 2020

Newly discovered large phages blur the life/non-life boundary

A new study published in the journal Nature shows that there are literally hundreds of viruses large enough to consume bacteria, and with properties that are typical of a living organism rather than the non-living self-replicating packages of DNA/RNA that viruses are often assumed to be.

12 Feb 2020

Yale scientists enlist most unlikely ally in efforts to treat glioblastoma

Glioblastomas are relentless, hard-to-treat, and often lethal brain tumors. Yale scientists have enlisted a most unlikely ally in efforts to treat this form of cancer -- elements of the Ebola virus.

12 Feb 2020

UChicago researchers develop first accurate mouse model of celiac disease

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed the first truly accurate mouse model of celiac disease. The animals have the same genetic and immune system characteristics as humans who develop celiac after eating gluten. This provides a vital research tool for developing and testing new treatments for the disease.

12 Feb 2020

Mysterious virus found in Brazil puzzles scientists with its unique genetic makeup

A team of Brazilian scientists discovered a puzzling new virus made of genetic material never seen before. But the virus won’t pose a serious health threat to humanity since it seems to only hunt amoebas.

12 Feb 2020

2019 coronavirus virus officially named COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease, which has spread from China to 24 other countries around the globe, has received its official name – COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

12 Feb 2020

Individual response to Ebola predicted by new method

The Ebola virus produces widely varying reactions, from asymptomatic illness to death, in people depending on the individual's susceptibility. But what drives this difference in response? A new study published in the journal Cell Reports on February 2020 goes one step further in understanding how the immune system reacts to the virus causing varying levels of severity of disease between cases.

11 Feb 2020

MGH researchers uncover potential antiviral drug target for treating infectious diseases

As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn't help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses.

11 Feb 2020