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.

Immune System's B Cells Use Tugging Forces to Pull Antigens Off Other Cells' Surfaces

Most cells evolve slowly, accumulating incremental changes that better suit their environments. Immune cells, because they must adapt rapidly to counter new threats, evolve much more quickly.

17 Apr 2023

Organoid Platform Could Help Reduce the Time for Developing New Conjugate Vaccines

Developing and testing new treatments or vaccines for humans almost always requires animal trials, but these experiments can sometimes take years to complete and can raise ethical concerns about the animals' treatment.

13 Apr 2023

Exceptional Number of Unknown Viruses Found in the Infants' Feces

Viruses are usually associated with illness. But our bodies are full of both bacteria and viruses that constantly proliferate and interact with each other in our gastrointestinal tract.

12 Apr 2023

Artificial Light at Night Could Significantly Impact Mosquito Behavior

A new study's finding that urban light pollution may disrupt the winter dormancy period for mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus could be considered both good news and bad news.

11 Apr 2023

Researchers Identify Antibody that may Block Infection by All Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Variants

A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Scripps Research and the University of Chicago has identified an antibody that appears to block infection by all dominant variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, including Omicron, the most recent.

10 Apr 2023

Viruses Interact with a Far More Diverse Set of Hosts than was Previously Thought

Viruses are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on Earth, living in every type of habitat. In the ocean alone viruses are ten times more abundant than microbes.

7 Apr 2023

Research Reveals Why Viruses can Reinfect a Population of Previously Immune Hosts

The human body is capable of creating a vast, diverse repertoire of antibodies-;the Y-shaped sniffer dogs of the immune system that can find and flag foreign invaders.

7 Apr 2023

Attacking the HTLV-1 Virus With the Help of Special Gene Scissors

HTLV-1 triggers aggressive forms of leukemia or an incurable spinal cord disease that leads to paralysis: the virus is the often ignored but no less insidious sibling of the HIV virus that causes AIDS and also belongs to the family of retroviruses.

6 Apr 2023

UDCA Use Associated with Reduced Odds of COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, attaches to a cellular receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and activation of the farnesoid X receptor increases ACE2 expression.

6 Apr 2023

Dengue Viruses Subvert Mosquito Biology to Tamp Down Human Immune Responses

The saliva of mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses contains a substance that thwarts the human immune system and makes it easier for people to become infected with these potentially deadly viruses, new research reveals.

5 Apr 2023

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Induces Memory Loss After COVID-19

Patients diagnosed with post-COVID-19 syndrome often experience cognitive and memory impairments.

4 Apr 2023

Tighter Core of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in New Variants Likely Improved the Virus's Ability to Infect Host Cells

Just as a tight core is a component of good physical fitness for humans, helping to stabilize our bodies, mutations that tightened the core of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in new variants may have increased the virus's fitness.

3 Apr 2023

Study brings into sharper focus the structural details of SARS-COV-2 virus

A new study led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) brings into sharper focus the structural details of the COVID-19 virus, revealing an elliptical shape that "breathes," or changes shape, as it moves in the body.

31 Mar 2023

Newly developed toolkit uses small molecules to control the activity of synthetic RNA

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc., has developed a new toolkit that uses small molecules to control the activity of a piece of synthetic RNA, and ultimately regulate gene expression.

31 Mar 2023

Clearance of senescent cells by boosting anti-viral immune response

Aging, or senescent cells, which stop dividing but don't die, can accumulate in the body over the years and fuel chronic inflammation that contributes to conditions such as cancer and degenerative disorders.

31 Mar 2023

Single monoclonal antibody infusion can strengthen the body's fight against yellow fever

New research from Oregon Health & Science University and collaborators indicates lab-made antibodies may be able to cure people infected with yellow fever, a virus for which there is no treatment.

30 Mar 2023

SARS-CoV-2 infection hijacks and damages parts of infected cells' vital RNA machinery

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hijacks parts of infected cells' vital RNA machinery, thereby blocking important functions in the cells. These damaging changes in the RNA can likely be reversed, potentially leading to new drugs against COVID-19, University of Gothenburg researchers show.

30 Mar 2023

Novel inhibitor, hopeaphenol, blocks HIV expression

In the United States, around 1.2 million people are living with HIV as of 2022. Many of these people can now live productive, symptom-free lives thanks to antiretroviral therapies, but a solution that permanently removes HIV from an infected person’s body is still a long way off.

30 Mar 2023

Additional therapeutic maneuver may be needed to stop some metastasized tumors Cancer That...

Cancer that has spread to areas like the lungs can apply the brakes to a natural pathway that should recruit killer T cells directly to where it has metastasized, scientists report.

29 Mar 2023

New inhibitor molecule disrupts the infection mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.

29 Mar 2023

Virus News and Research

Immune System's B Cells Use Tugging Forces to Pull Antigens Off Other Cells' Surfaces

Organoid Platform Could Help Reduce the Time for Developing New Conjugate Vaccines

Exceptional Number of Unknown Viruses Found in the Infants' Feces

Artificial Light at Night Could Significantly Impact Mosquito Behavior

Researchers Identify Antibody that may Block Infection by All Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Viruses Interact with a Far More Diverse Set of Hosts than was Previously Thought

Research Reveals Why Viruses can Reinfect a Population of Previously Immune Hosts

Attacking the HTLV-1 Virus With the Help of Special Gene Scissors

UDCA Use Associated with Reduced Odds of COVID-19

Dengue Viruses Subvert Mosquito Biology to Tamp Down Human Immune Responses

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Induces Memory Loss After COVID-19

Tighter Core of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in New Variants Likely Improved the Virus's Ability to Infect Host Cells

Study brings into sharper focus the structural details of SARS-COV-2 virus

Newly developed toolkit uses small molecules to control the activity of synthetic RNA

Clearance of senescent cells by boosting anti-viral immune response

Single monoclonal antibody infusion can strengthen the body's fight against yellow fever

SARS-CoV-2 infection hijacks and damages parts of infected cells' vital RNA machinery

Novel inhibitor, hopeaphenol, blocks HIV expression

Additional therapeutic maneuver may be needed to stop some metastasized tumors Cancer That...

New inhibitor molecule disrupts the infection mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

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