Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

NIH-funded study finds how hantaviruses infect the lungs

A human protein associated with asthma is key to how hantaviruses infect the lungs and sometimes cause a life-threatening pulmonary condition known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

26 Nov 2018

Why Mosquitoes prefer some people over others: Genetic discovery

A new study has tried to assess the genetic variants among mosquitoes that make them more susceptible to spreading deadly viral diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya and more resistant to insecticides that are used to kill them.

25 Nov 2018

MERS virus that causes harmless cold in camels can be fatal for humans

What causes only a harmless cold in camels can be fatal for humans: an infection with the MERS virus. Since its discovery in 2012, the virus was detected in approximately 2,000 patients and 36 percent of them have not survived the severe lung disease known as MERS.

22 Nov 2018

Scientists identify key protein involved in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome

A global team of investigators has identified a key protein involved in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a serious and sometimes fatal respiratory disease, according to research published today in the journal Nature.

22 Nov 2018

New diagnostics based on nanopore analytics and AI can identify single influenza virions

Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease of global importance, which causes millions of infections annually with the ever-present risk of a serious outbreak. Passive vaccination is the only method available for partial control of the virus.

21 Nov 2018

Vanderbilt researchers isolate antibody that can neutralize West Nile virus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that can "neutralize" the West Nile virus and potentially prevent a leading cause of viral encephalitis (brain inflammation) in the United States.

21 Nov 2018

Researchers develop model that predicts transmissibility of viral zoonoses

Researchers have developed a model that predicts which of the viruses that can jump from animals to people can also be transmitted from person to person--and are therefore possible sources of human diseases.

20 Nov 2018

First modeling system developed for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines

A team of scientists at Boston Children's Hospital has developed the first modeling system for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines -- outside the body. The practical, cost-effective new platform, using all human components, is expected to accelerate and de-risk the development, assessment and selection of vaccines.

20 Nov 2018

Study indicates that frogs in virus-exposed groups breed at young age

Frogs from groups exposed to a deadly virus are breeding at younger ages, new research suggests. Scientists studying European common frogs in the UK compared groups ("populations") exposed to ranavirus and those free from the disease.

20 Nov 2018

Scientists identify novel target for neuron regeneration, functional recovery in spinal cord injury

Restoring the ability to walk following spinal cord injury requires neurons in the brain to reestablish communication pathways with neurons in the spinal cord.

20 Nov 2018

Study sheds light on the infection mechanism of influenza virus

New research has taken a step towards understanding how highly pathogenic influenza viruses such as deadly bird flu infect humans.

20 Nov 2018

Scientists equip new virus that kills carcinoma cells with protein

Scientists have equipped a virus that kills carcinoma cells with a protein so it can also target and kill adjacent cells that are tricked into shielding the cancer from the immune system.

19 Nov 2018

Reducing cellular proliferation could help deplete HIV reservoir and lead to a functional cure

A majority of the HIV-infected cells that persist in HIV-infected individuals even during suppressive antiretroviral therapy originated from cellular proliferation, not viral replication, according to new research published in Nature Communications.

17 Nov 2018

FIND explores new diagnostic assays for confirmatory HCV diagnosis in community settings

The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics today announced awards to support the development, manufacture and feasibility testing of two prototype hepatitis C virus core antigen immunoassays for confirmatory HCV diagnosis at the point of care.

16 Nov 2018

Mechanisms that govern HIV latency differ in the gut and blood, finds study

Mechanisms that govern HIV transcription and latency differ in the gut and blood, according to a study published November 15 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Steven Yukl of San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.

16 Nov 2018

New method to extend cell division and immortalization of avian-derived cells

The number of critically endangered animals has been increasing in recent years. According to data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 1375 avian species are categorized as being endangered animals, and around 12% of the endangered species are avian.

16 Nov 2018

Study provides new insight into norovirus outbreaks, may help guide efforts to develop vaccines

Outbreaks of norovirus in health care settings and outbreaks caused by a particular genotype of the virus are more likely to make people seriously ill, according to a new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

15 Nov 2018

TGen North collaborates with NARBHA Institute to advance human health

TGen North, the Pathogen and Microbiome Division of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, has partnered with the non-profit NARBHA Institute to advance human health through the new TGen One Health Collaborative, an initiative that recognizes the interdependence of people, animals and plants in both the human-built and natural environments.

15 Nov 2018

Microgel powder reduces infection and promotes healing

While making smart glue, a team of engineers discovered a handy byproduct: hydrogen peroxide. In microgel form, it reduces bacteria and virus ability to infect by at least 99 percent.

14 Nov 2018

NIH researchers shed light on causes of HBV-associated acute liver failure

National Institutes of Health scientists and their collaborators found that hepatitis B virus-associated acute liver failure--a rare condition that can turn fatal within days without liver transplantation--results from an uncommon encounter between a highly mutated HBV variant and an unusual immune response in the patient's liver that is mainly sustained by antibody-producing B cells.

14 Nov 2018