Virus News and Research

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A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only inside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of organisms: from animals and plants, to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 5,000 types of virus have been described in detail, although most types of virus remain undiscovered. Viruses are ubiquitous, as they are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, and are the most abundant type of biological entity on the planet. The study of viruses is known as virology, and is a branch of microbiology.

New Optical Tweezers Open Up New Insights on Specific DNA Motor Proteins

Using “optical tweezers” driven by lasers, researchers have discovered a universal motor mechanism that viruses utilize to package their DNA into infectious particles.

22 Nov 2023

Study Sheds Light on Factors Contributing to Low-Level Viremia in HIV Patients

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) works by entering specific immune cells and replicating inside them.

15 Nov 2023

Bacteria and Viruses Evolve New Strategies in Accelerated Arms Race

As conceived by Charles Darwin in the 1800s, evolution is a slow, gradual process during which species adaptations are inherited incrementally over generations.

10 Nov 2023

Novel Gene Therapy Targets Core Motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

A team of researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and their collaborators have devised a gene therapy approach aimed at selectively manipulating the affected circuitry in Parkinson’s disease.

6 Nov 2023

New LoCKAmp Device Delivers Lab-Quality COVID Test Results in Just 3 Minutes

A virus diagnosis device that gives lab-quality results within just three minutes has been invented by engineers at the University of Bath, who describe it as the 'world's fastest Covid test'.

3 Nov 2023

The Dominant Phage-Resistant LAB in Long-Term Kimchi Fermentation

Scientists from the World Institute of Kimchi have successfully extracted lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains that exhibit remarkable phage resistance.

2 Nov 2023

New Modular Nanoparticle Technology Opens the Door to a Variety of Therapeutic Approaches

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins.

31 Oct 2023

MIT Chemists Discover Structure of SARS-CoV-2 Ion Channel in Open State

The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of Covid-19.

16 Oct 2023

DNA from 19th Century Fruit Flies Sheds Light on Evolution

Back when the biggest fly enthusiasts of 19th century Sweden -; Carl Fredrik Fallén, for one, and later Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt -; were collecting insects for what would become Lund University's entomological collections, they wondered exactly what was that buzzing coming from their can of raisins.

13 Oct 2023

New Tool to Improve Genetic Analysis and Research

Rutgers researchers have created an analytical technique for detecting and removing stray DNA and RNA that contaminate single-celled organism genetic analysis.

11 Oct 2023

Gene-Edited Chickens in Fight Against Bird Flu

Scientists have used gene editing techniques to identify and change parts of chicken DNA that could limit the spread of the bird flu virus in the animals.

11 Oct 2023

Rutgers Researchers Develop New Tool to Improve Accuracy of Single-Cell Genetic Analyses

Rutgers researchers have developed an analytical tool for spotting and omitting stray DNA and RNA that contaminate genetic analyses of single-celled organisms.

10 Oct 2023

Research Offers a Promising Avenue for Improving T-Cell-Based Cancer Therapies

Using laboratory-grown cells from humans and genetically engineered mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have evidence that modifying a specific protein in immune white blood cells known as CD8+ T cells can make the cells more robust, potentially opening the door for better use of people's own immune system T cells to fight cancer.

4 Oct 2023