Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Two investigational Ebola vaccines well-tolerated in Phase 2 clinical trial

Two investigational vaccines designed to protect against Ebola virus disease were well-tolerated and induced an immune response among 1,000 vaccinated participants in the Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial called PREVAIL I.

25 Feb 2016

Tackling Zika virus: Challenges ahead

Health officials, drug companies, governments and the public are scrambling to understand and combat the Zika virus. The virus was first identified almost 70 years ago, but little is known about it. And now, officials suspect it could be related to a rise in microcephaly cases in affected countries.

25 Feb 2016

Ebola survivors and close contacts have high burden of illness

Preliminary findings from PREVAIL III, a study of Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors being conducted in Liberia, indicate that both Ebola survivors and their close contacts have a high burden of illness. However, the prevalence of eye, musculoskeletal, and neurological complications was greater among the individuals who survived EVD.

25 Feb 2016

Study: Most Ebola survivors experience brain symptoms more than six months after initial infection

Most of the 82 Ebola survivors in a new study from the world's largest Ebola outbreak had brain symptoms more than six months after the initial infection. The preliminary results will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.

25 Feb 2016

Researchers discover new JE virus transmission route

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct contact, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season.

24 Feb 2016

Ohio State researchers working on new way to treat drug-resistant cancer

Researchers at The Ohio State University are working on a new way to treat drug-resistant cancer that the ancient Greeks would approve of--only it's not a Trojan horse, but DNA that hides the invading force.

24 Feb 2016

Influenza virus can able to circumvent the body's immune system

Influenza is able to mask itself, so that the virus is not initially detected by our immune system. This is the result of new research from Aarhus University. The researchers behind the study hope that the discovery can be used to develop better treatment against influenza and chronic inflammation conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

24 Feb 2016

Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital jointly release country's first rapid test for Zika virus

Collaboration between two Texas Medical Center institutions has resulted in today's release of the country's first hospital-based rapid tests for the Zika virus.

23 Feb 2016

Dapivirine ring can help prevent HIV-1 infection in women

In an important scientific achievement for women's health, two large Phase III clinical trials -- The Ring Study and ASPIRE -- have shown that a monthly vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug (ARV) dapivirine can safely help prevent HIV-1 infection in women.

23 Feb 2016

Researchers develop designer recombinase that can remove provirus from HIV-1 isolates

Researchers at the Medical Faculty of the Technische Universität Dresden and the Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology succeeded in developing a designer recombinase (Brec1) that is capable of specifically removing the provirus from infected cells of most primary HIV-1 isolates.

23 Feb 2016

Pitt experts lead gene therapy clinical trial in Parkinson's disease patients

Experts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine are leading the second arm of a clinical trial using gene therapy to relieve the symptoms of tremor and mobility impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease.

23 Feb 2016

Two Johns Hopkins scientists named among 105 winners of Presidential Early Career Awards

Namandje Bumpus, Ph.D., and Jordan Green, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are among 105 winners of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, which were announced by the White House on Feb. 18.

23 Feb 2016

Study identifies new mechanism for controlling HIV replication

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that HIV infection of human immune cells triggers a massive increase in methylation, a chemical modification, to both human and viral RNA, aiding replication of the virus.

23 Feb 2016

Regulus reports net loss of $7.2 million for fourth quarter 2015

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2015 and provided a summary of recent corporate highlights.

23 Feb 2016

Researchers examine socio-ecology, climate responses of Zika virus transmission

Zika: The virus has emerged as a major public health threat that's rapidly spreading through South and Central America and the Caribbean.

22 Feb 2016

EPFL researchers develop portable microfluidic diagnostic device to detect different diseases

When remote regions with limited health facilities experience an epidemic, they need portable diagnostic equipment that functions outside the hospital. As demand for such equipment grows, EPFL researchers have developed a low-cost and portable microfluidic diagnostic device. It has been tested on Ebola and can be used to detect many other diseases.

22 Feb 2016

Researchers identify new group of powerful Ebola-fighting antibodies

A research team that included scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has identified a new group of powerful antibodies to fight Ebola virus.

22 Feb 2016

New study focuses on safety of using induced pluripotent stem cells in patients

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the J. Craig Venter Institute shows that the act of creating pluripotent stem cells for clinical use is unlikely to pass on cancer-causing mutations to patients.

22 Feb 2016

New visiongain report on Zika virus

What can be expected as the Zika outbreak progresses? Which areas are going to be the most affected? This visiongain report discusses the future direction of the Zika virus outbreak and the implications of its spread. It also discussed the infectious disease diagnostics market and the global human vaccines market, both of which are forecast to 2026.

22 Feb 2016

Virginia Tech scientist finds way to potentially track and stop viruses

Viruses are molecular thieves that take from their hosts under the cloak of darkness. But now a Virginia Tech scientist has found a way to not only track viral hijackers, but also potentially stop them from replicating.

19 Feb 2016