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.
Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a Zika vaccine technology that is very safe and effective in preclinical mouse models.
According to a new study, tiny nets made of DNA strands can capture the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, illuminating it for a quick yet accurate diagnostic test and preventing it from infecting cells, suggesting a new potential path to antiviral treatment.
In an article published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, the team led by Prof. Alain Vanderplasschen, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Liège, describes 10 years of research on how a carp virus uses a protein domain called Zalpha (Zα) to inhibit the host cell’s defense mechanisms.
There are billions of fungi, bacteria, and viruses, in a handful of soil, all working to support the cycle of life. Comprehending the interaction of these microbes with one another aids researchers evaluate soil carbon and nutrient cycling, soil health, and also the means through which dead insects decompose.
University of Alberta’s study demonstrates the way cell membranes perform a much bigger role than that was understood in enabling spike proteins on viruses to affect cells.
A new paper published in Nature Communications adds further evidence to the bradykinin storm theory of COVID-19's viral pathogenesis -; a theory that was posited two years ago by a team of researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
By helping with digestion, supplying nutrients and metabolites, and collaborating with the immune system to ward off pathogens, gut bacteria have a significant impact on health.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Virogin Biotech today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of investigational treatments, including oncolytic viruses and immunotherapies, for patients with advanced cancers.
Chlamydia, the most common bacterial infection associated with sexually transmitted diseases, hides inside human cells using a cloaking mechanism to avoid detection and destruction.
The flash of lightning and the movement of the aurora contain the plasma, the fourth state of matter that scientists have exploited to create a gas that may trigger plant immunity against widespread illnesses.
Bacteria use a wide range of defense strategies to combat viral infection, and some of these systems have resulted in game-changing technologies like CRISPR-based gene editing.
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) and their collaborators gave a presentation recently at AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal.
Heart damage is prevalent in COVID-19 patients, leading many to doubt how the virus impacts the heart.
There are no disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease that can alter the course of the disease.
As the BA.5 omicron variant continues to spread, health experts are increasingly preparing for a future in which such COVID-19 variants emerge, surge and recede similar to seasonal flu.
On actual viral next-generation sequencing data, a recent study compares and evaluates eight de novo genome assembly software tools.
According to research, carefully formulated combinations of broadly neutralizing antibodies might effectively cure HIV while reducing the chance that the virus would evade therapy.
Numerous cells, including neurons, depend on the intracellular messenger molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to function. It does this by encouraging axon growth and maintaining neuronal communication.
Pox viruses get a head start on infecting a host by delivering a package of proteins that interferes directly with the innate immune system of the host.
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have created antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in hen eggs.