Virus News and Research

RSS

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.

Hydrogel Therapy: A Novel Defense Against Viral Infections

Vaccines remain the gold standard of protection against dangerous pathogens, but take considerable time and vast resources to develop.

24 Apr 2024

Revealing the Genetic Mechanisms Driving SARS-CoV-2 Variants

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for COVID-19, exhibits a troubling tendency to produce variants frequently.

23 Apr 2024

Protein TRBP's Regulatory Role in Immune Response to Viral Infections Uncovered

Researchers have revealed the regulatory mechanism of a specific protein that plays a key role in balancing the immune response triggered by viral infections in mammal cells.

22 Apr 2024

Breakthrough RNA-Based Vaccine Strategy Offers Universal Protection

Scientists at UC Riverside have demonstrated a new, RNA-based vaccine strategy that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the immunocompromised.

16 Apr 2024

Nasal Cells in Children Shield Against Severe COVID-19

Children usually have milder COVID-19 symptoms; this could be due to differences in how elderly and young people's nasal cells react to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

16 Apr 2024

Unlocking the Potential of CRISPR/Cas13 for Antiviral Therapy

RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 demand new solutions. CRISPR/Cas13 tools work well against these viruses in the cell's nucleus, but not in the cytoplasm, where many replicate.

15 Apr 2024

Genetic Link to Persistent HPV Infections Identified

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the second most common cancer-causing virus, accounting for 690,000 cervical and other cancers each year worldwide.

15 Apr 2024

Deciphering the Significance of m6A RNA Modification in HIV-1 Genome

A chemical modification in the HIV-1 RNA genome whose function has been a matter of scientific debate is now confirmed to be key to the virus's ability to survive and thrive after infecting host cells, a new study has found.

13 Apr 2024

Study Reveals Genetic Underpinnings for Cervical Cancer Risk from Persistent HPV Infections

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the second most common cancer-causing virus, accounting for 690,000 cervical and other cancers each year worldwide.

12 Apr 2024

AI Predicts Mutations for Improved Protein Function

To design proteins with beneficial functions, researchers typically start with a natural protein possessing a desirable function, such as emitting fluorescent light.

5 Apr 2024

Researchers Uncover the FACT-ETS-1 Antiviral Response Pathway

By focusing on a poxvirus protein, a team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists has discovered an antiviral immune pathway that broadly fights a wide variety of viruses.

4 Apr 2024

New Virus Offers Hope for Amphibians Ravaged by Fungus

A fungus devastating frogs and toads on nearly every continent may have an Achilles heel. Scientists have discovered a virus that infects the fungus, and that could be engineered to save the amphibians.

4 Apr 2024

Study may Provide a Roadmap for Addressing Cytokine Storms in Severe COVID-19

A recent USC study provides new information about why SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, may elicit mild symptoms at first but then, for a subset of patients, turn potentially fatal a week or so after infection.

1 Apr 2024

Viruses Pose Unforeseen Threat to Native Desert Ecosystems

Just as many people battle seasonal colds and flu, native plants face their own viral threats. People have long known that plants can succumb to viruses just like humans.

29 Mar 2024

Penn Researchers Develop Breakthrough Technique for Creating Human Artificial Chromosomes

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) capable of working within human cells could power advanced gene therapies, including those addressing some cancers, along with many laboratory applications, though serious technical obstacles have hindered their development.

28 Mar 2024

Multi-Tailed Strucrure Expands the Horizons of mRNA Therapeutics

Messenger RNA (mRNA) made its big leap into the public limelight during the pandemic, thanks to its cornerstone role in several COVID-19 vaccines

25 Mar 2024

Avoiding Post-COVID ‘Brain Fog’

Memory loss and difficulties learning are two of the numerous perplexing symptoms in COVID-19 infected patients.

22 Mar 2024

$1.65 Million Grant Awarded for Advancing Therapeutic RNA Design

A team led by Dr. Samie Jaffrey, the Greenberg-Starr Professor of Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a three-year, $1.65 million grant for RNA research under a biotechnology-development program run by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

22 Mar 2024

Latest CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing Can Eliminate All Traces of HIV Virus From Infected Cells

New research presented early ahead of this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024, Barcelona, 27-30 April) from a team of researchers in the Netherlands shows how the latest CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology can be used to eliminate all traces of the HIV virus from infected cells in the laboratory, raising hopes of a cure.

20 Mar 2024

Drug Candidates Show Promise to Reverse HIV's Ability to Escape Immune System Detection

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have identified drug candidates that show promise to reverse the ability of HIV to escape detection by the immune system.

20 Mar 2024