Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Study: Hepatitis C vaccine could drastically reduce transmission among injecting drug users

Among the most serious consequences of the opioid epidemic is the spread of hepatitis C among injecting drug users.

12 Jul 2018

New 3D model of 1918 H1 pandemic influenza virus could benefit VLP vaccine projects

Virus-like particles are protein-based structures that mimic viruses and bind to antibodies. Because VLPs are not infectious, they show considerable promise as vaccine platforms for many viral diseases, including influenza.

12 Jul 2018

New class of chemical compounds has potential for treating Zika virus and RSV

A new and promising class of chemical compounds has major potential for treating Zika virus and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, according to a new study by University of Alberta scientists. The next step is to develop a drug.

12 Jul 2018

Scientists discover ‘Big Bang’ of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists have discovered a "Big Bang" of Alzheimer's disease - the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain.

11 Jul 2018

Researchers highlight the need for wider access to HIV prevention drugs

Despite highly effective anti-HIV pharmaceuticals having been used worldwide for almost a decade, HIV has not been conquered.

11 Jul 2018

Researchers use genome editing to reduce cholesterol levels in animal model

Using genome editing to inactivate a protein called PCSK9 effectively reduces cholesterol levels in rhesus macaques, a species of monkey, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Jul 2018

Preventative HIV vaccines induce robust, comparable immune responses in humans and monkeys

More than three decades after the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus, scientists are still working to develop a preventative vaccine that could finally put an end to the epidemic for which there are nearly two million new infections each year.

9 Jul 2018

Researchers trace history of human Hepatitis B in the Bronze Age

Thanks to viral traces in the genomes of ancient people, researchers from South Ural State University were able to determine that man has been suffering from Hepatitis B since at least the Bronze Age.

9 Jul 2018

State prisons fail to offer cure to 144,000 inmates with deadly hepatitis C

State prisons across the U.S. are failing to treat at least 144,000 inmates who have hepatitis C, a curable but potentially fatal liver disease, according to a recent survey and subsequent interviews of state corrections departments.

9 Jul 2018

Step towards an HIV/AIDS vaccine

There has been a four decades long challenge to develop a vaccine against the deadly HIV virus that causes AIDS. Last Saturday the research bore fruit when a team of scientists announced that a trial drug has shown immune response in humans and also protected laboratory monkeys from HIV infection.

9 Jul 2018

NIH researchers identify natural lipid that acts as potent anti-inflammatory

National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a naturally occurring lipid--a waxy, fatty acid--used by a disease-causing bacterium to impair the host immune response and increase the chance of infection. Inadvertently, they also may have found a potent inflammation therapy against bacterial and viral diseases.

9 Jul 2018

Combe announces launch of Preventeza Emergency Contraceptive and campaign

Combe Inc., the makers of Vagisil, today announced the launch of its Preventeza Emergency Contraceptive #WeAre1in2 campaign to showcase solidarity around women's reproductive rights.

6 Jul 2018

Gene therapy study shows promise for chronic kidney disease

A study has shown that a viral vector can deliver genetic material to damaged kidney cells, potentially providing a treatment that can slow or reverse chronic kidney disease.

6 Jul 2018

Study finds mechanism by which amyloid beta protects the brain from herpes infection

A Massachusetts General Hospital study has found the mechanism by which amyloid beta - the protein deposited into plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease - protects from the effects of herpes viruses commonly found in the brain.

6 Jul 2018

Scientists take a deep dive into differences between Zika and dengue virus

More than two years after reports of skyrocketing Zika rates surfaced worldwide, questions still loom about this complicated virus.

6 Jul 2018

Scientists use stem cells to uncover why the Zika virus is so infective

Researchers have made an important discovery about the Zika virus that could lead to the development of more effective measures to protect people.

5 Jul 2018

HPV test better than Pap when screening for cervical cancer

The Pap smear test has been used widely for the past five decades to understand and screen for early signs of cervical cancer. The conventional test has been largely replaced by a liquid-based Pap cytology test. Soon it may be replaced by another test – the Human papilloma virus test or the HPV test finds new research.

4 Jul 2018