Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Infant HBV vaccination prevents HCC in children, young adults

Immunisation against hepatitis B virus in infants protects against the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in not only children but also young adults, a Taiwanese study finds.

4 Jul 2016

TDF reduces vertical HBV transmission

The mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus is reduced with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate treatment during the third trimester in pregnant chronic HBV patients with a high viral load, show the findings of a trial conducted in China.

4 Jul 2016

Key differences in immune response may explain young children’s proneness to infecion

Schools are commonly known as breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria, but this may not necessarily be linked to hygiene.

4 Jul 2016

Researchers identify shingles as persistent risk factor for stroke

The study by researchers from the Department of Neurology at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul showed that herpes zoster infection not only raised the risk of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke but also that of a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), a warning mini-stroke often preceding a full-blown stroke.

4 Jul 2016

Biosecurity Research Institute takes two-part approach in fighting Zika virus

Kansas State University is helping the fight against Zika virus through mosquito research.

4 Jul 2016

Study could offer new ways to enhance cancer immunotherapy

When an immune T cell divides into two daughter cells, the activity of an enzyme called mTORC1, which controls protein production, splits unevenly between the progeny, producing two cells with different properties.

4 Jul 2016

Study sheds more light on how bacteria rapidly causes infectious diseases

Researchers at Umea University are first to discover that bacteria can multiply disease-inducing genes which are needed to rapidly cause infection.

1 Jul 2016

Wolbachia bacterium can prevent mosquitoes from transmitting Zika virus

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have confirmed that a benign bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis can completely block transmission of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for passing the virus to humans.

1 Jul 2016

SLU researchers receive federal grant to study Zika virus

Saint Louis University vaccine researchers have received $1.3 million in federal funding to study Zika, as part of a multi-site study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

1 Jul 2016

Likelihood of Zika virus outbreak not high in the U.S.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases professor emeritus David Freedman, M.D., is not concerned about a widespread Zika virus outbreak in the United States.

30 Jun 2016

Researchers test experimental Zika virus vaccine in mice

An experimental vaccine against Zika virus developed by Brazilian and US researchers has been tested successfully in trials with mice.

30 Jun 2016

More research needed to predict how climate change alters outbreak of infectious diseases

It is time we act proactively to minimize the effect of climate change on our health, say the researchers behind a new review published in Environment International. To do this, more cross-disciplinary collaboration is needed to predict how climate change will alter the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases.

30 Jun 2016

Using NMR to investigate intrinsically disordered proteins: an interview with Dr Isabella Felli

“IDPs” is now a widely used acronym that stands for “intrinsically disordered proteins.” It is the term generally used by the scientific community to refer to a wide variety of proteins that do not have a stable 3D structure and are instead characterized by a high extent of local mobility, disorder and many conformers that are accessible at room temperature.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 30 Jun 2016

New AAV 3.0 program to create next-generation viral vectors for better treatment of inherited diseases

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has launched a new program, called AAV 3.0, to create new viral vectors to find quicker and better treatments for an array of diseases. James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine and director of the Orphan Disease Center, will lead an interdisciplinary team of over 30 scientists to create this new technology platform with support provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

30 Jun 2016

Researchers reveal novel mechanism by which viral protein VII suppresses immune alarm signals

Viruses must avoid a host's immune system to establish successful infections—and scientists have discovered another tool that viruses use to frustrate host defenses.

30 Jun 2016

Experts compile model list of essential diagnostic tests aiming to improve global health

In a western doctor's office or hospital, patients don't think twice about giving a blood or urine sample that can tell if they have a disease or infection, or show if their medicines are working. The samples get rushed to a testing lab with modern equipment that's held to high quality standards.

30 Jun 2016

New $2 test can rapidly detect Zika virus in saliva

Anxiety over the Zika virus is growing as the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro approach. To better diagnose and track the disease, scientists are now reporting in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry a new $2 test that in the lab can accurately detect low levels of the virus in saliva.

30 Jun 2016

TSRI scientists develop new strategy to design potential HIV vaccine candidates

Want to catch a criminal? Show a mugshot on the news. Want to stop HIV infections? Get the immune system to recognize and attack the virus's tell-tale structure. That's part of the basic approach behind efforts at The Scripps Research Institute to design an AIDS vaccine.

29 Jun 2016

Study highlights role of CMV in patients with leukemia after bone marrow transplantation

Recent studies on a small number of patients with leukemia treated with bone marrow transplantation have suggested that the presence of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients or their donors may protect against relapse or even death after the transplant.

29 Jun 2016

Study: Zika virus infections last longer during pregnancy

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers studying monkeys have shown that one infection with Zika virus protects against future infection, though pregnancy may drastically prolong the time the virus stays in the body.

29 Jun 2016