Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

DNA nanostructures provide novel applications in molecular medicine

Researchers from Aalto University have published an article in the recent Trends in Biotechnology journal. The article discusses how DNA molecules can be assembled into tailored and complex nanostructures, and further, how these structures can find uses in therapeutics and bionanotechnological applications.

25 Sep 2015

Researchers develop chip-based instrument for reliable detection of Ebola virus

A team led by researchers at UC Santa Cruz has developed chip-based technology for reliable detection of Ebola virus and other viral pathogens. The system uses direct optical detection of viral molecules and can be integrated into a simple, portable instrument for use in field situations where rapid, accurate detection of Ebola infections is needed to control outbreaks.

25 Sep 2015

Florida Institute finalizes funding agreement with Aviana

The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with Aviana Molecular Technologies, an Orlando-based company with technology developed at the University of Central Florida.

24 Sep 2015

Researchers reveal potential new treatment methods for fatal brain disease

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich reveal possible new treatment methods for a rare, usually fatal brain disease. Thanks to their discovery that specific antibodies play a key role in combating the viral infection, a vaccine against the disease "progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy" could now be developed.

24 Sep 2015

Soft palate plays key role in viruses' ability to spread

Flu viruses come in many strains, and some are better equipped than others to spread from person to person. Scientists have now discovered that the soft palate -- the soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth -- plays a key role in viruses' ability to travel through the air from one person to another.

24 Sep 2015

TSRI scientists awarded grant from Gates Foundation to develop revolutionary alternative HIV/AIDS vaccine

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded up to nearly $6 million dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a revolutionary HIV/AIDS alternative vaccine that has demonstrated great potential in animal models.

23 Sep 2015

Researchers find potential new way to target brain cells affected by Parkinson's disease

Researchers from Imperial College London and Newcastle University believe they have found a potential new way to target cells of the brain affected by Parkinson's disease.

23 Sep 2015

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

While yearly outbreaks of flu kill about 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide, the 1918 "Spanish" flu infected one-third of the world's population and killed 50 million to 100 million. Chad Petit, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has discovered a novel mechanism for one 1918 flu virus protein that may help explain the virulence of that unusually deadly pandemic.

23 Sep 2015

Donor and patient age more important in determining kidney transplant success

Infection by virus cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common and major complication following kidney transplantation. Previous studies have related CMV infection with increased kidney transplant failure and reduced patient survival. However, a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology reports that the age of the donor and the recipient, not CMV infection, are more important factors in determining transplant success.

22 Sep 2015

Scientists uncover how embryonic stem cells inhibit virus expression

Scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, have uncovered the mechanisms which embryonic stem cells employ to inhibit virus expression.

22 Sep 2015

Protein-based modular system could help detect viral infection or kill cancer cells

MIT biological engineers have developed a modular system of proteins that can detect a particular DNA sequence in a cell and then trigger a specific response, such as cell death.

22 Sep 2015

Vaginal silicone ring may protect women against HIV, herpes virus

Researchers at University Jean Monnet of Saint-Etienne, France have succeeded in developing a vaginal silicone ring that delivers molecules that act on both HIV and herpes virus. This research is presented at the 55th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC/ICC).

21 Sep 2015

New study reshapes how scientists look at dengue virus

A new study is reshaping how scientists look at and understand a deadly virus. An international consortium of scientists, including researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, worked to map out the antigenic differences in various strains of dengue virus.

19 Sep 2015

Cattle virus found in human cancer cells

Evidence of exposure to bovine leukaemia virus (BLV) has been found in human breast cancer samples. This is the first suggestion of a possible link between infection with a leukaemia virus prevalent in cows and breast cancer in humans.

18 Sep 2015

Genetically engineered vaccine eradicates precancerous cervical lesions

Scientists have used a genetically engineered vaccine to successfully eradicate high-grade precancerous cervical lesions in nearly one-half of women who received the vaccine in a clinical trial. The goal, say the scientists, was to find nonsurgical ways to treat precancerous lesions caused by HPV.

18 Sep 2015

UC San Diego, TSRI form new consortium to map cells in space and time

Drawing on complementary strengths of two San Diego institutions, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) have formed a new consortium with a big mission: to map cells in space and time.

18 Sep 2015

Gynaecological cancer still remains a taboo subject

They're thrown into menopause in their twenties, lose the possibility to have biological children, and struggle with their sex life.

18 Sep 2015

Researchers establish link between bovine leukemia virus and human breast cancer

A new study by University of California, Berkeley, researchers establishes for the first time a link between infection with the bovine leukemia virus and human breast cancer.

16 Sep 2015

Benitec Biopharma initiates new site for ongoing Phase 1/2a TT-034 trial for hepatitis C

Benitec Biopharma Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics based on its gene-silencing technology, DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi), is pleased to announce it has initiated a new site for its ongoing Phase 1/2a TT-034 trial at the Methodist Health System Clinical Research Institute in Dallas, Texas.

16 Sep 2015

Tackling MRSA with bacteriophage

MRSA is bad news. If you've never heard of it, here's what you need to know: It's pronounced MER-suh, it's a nasty bacterial infection and it can cause serious disease and death.

15 Sep 2015