Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Nanobody Nano-85 holds promise for detection of noroviral RNA

Infection with highly contagious noroviruses, while not usually fatal, can lead to a slew of unpleasant symptoms such as excessive vomiting and diarrhea. Current treatment options are limited to rehydration of the patient. "Additionally, noroviruses come in a variety of constantly evolving strains.

9 Mar 2015

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics highlights positive effects of human milk on infants, maternal health

Human milk provides the best nutrition for most babies and breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for infants and very young children, according to an updated position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

6 Mar 2015

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study

Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. Flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza.

6 Mar 2015

Researchers study safety, effectiveness of experimental Ebola vaccine following high-risk exposure

A physician who received an experimental Ebola vaccine after experiencing a needle stick while working in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone did not develop Ebola virus infection, and there was strong Ebola-specific immune responses after the vaccination, although because of its limited use to date, the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine is not certain, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

6 Mar 2015

Finding may help advance experimental approach to improving public health

Scientists have discovered a new way to manipulate how cells function, a finding that might help advance an experimental approach to improving public health: DNA vaccines, which could be more efficient, less expensive and easier to store than traditional vaccines.

5 Mar 2015

Researchers find new retrovirus 'fossil' in vampire bats

Scientists discovered a new retrovirus "fossil" found in the common vampire bat which is homologous to retroviruses in rodents and primates. The results suggest the recent circulation of an active infectious retrovirus and cross-species transmission.

4 Mar 2015

Kansas State researchers preparing for next potential influenza strain

As seasonal influenza cases decrease across the United States, Kansas State University researchers are preparing for the next potential virulent strain of flu.

4 Mar 2015

New antibody provides 100% protection against H5N1 influenza virus in animal models

Since 2003, the H5N1 influenza virus, more commonly known as the bird flu, has been responsible for the deaths of millions of chickens and ducks and has infected more than 650 people, leading to a 60 percent mortality rate for the latter. Luckily, this virus has yet to achieve human-to-human transmission, but a small number of mutations could change that, resulting in a pandemic.

4 Mar 2015

New rapid Ebola test authorized for emergency use by FDA

University of Texas Medical Branch researchers who helped assess the effectiveness of a new rapid test kit to diagnose Ebola learned this week it has received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

4 Mar 2015

Scientists find gorilla origins in two human AIDS virus lineages

Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to an international team of scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and others.

3 Mar 2015

Researchers reveal how bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection

The cascade of events leading to bacterial infection and the immune response is mostly understood. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis have remained a mystery — until now. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have now uncovered how a bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection and suggest that adjusting the level of this of this molecule may be a new way to treat the disease.

3 Mar 2015

Dengue fever circulating in urban areas of West Africa

Misdiagnosis of febrile illnesses as malaria is a continuing problem in Africa. A new study shows that in Ghana, dengue fever is circulating in urban areas and going undiagnosed. The authors of the study hope to use the findings to launch a widespread initiative to better understand acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses in West Africa.

3 Mar 2015

Modified measles vaccine effective against Chikungunya virus, study finds

A modified, conventional measles vaccine has the potential to act against the Chikungunya virus. This is the result of a study at the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology of the MedUni Wien (Medical University of Vienna), which has now been published in the top journal "The Lancet Infectious Diseases".

2 Mar 2015

Findings may explain why HIV cure strategies have failed

A major hurdle to curing people of HIV infection is the way the virus hides in a reservoir composed primarily of dormant immune cells.

2 Mar 2015

New book provides in-depth, advanced understanding of Ebola and rabies viruses

Significant human and animal pathogens remain major scourges to human health. Recent devastating Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa underscores the importance of understanding the biology of replication and response of host cells to infection by these pathogens.

28 Feb 2015

KU Leuven researchers devise simple, effective solution to untangle DNA

Researchers have long sought an efficient way to untangle DNA in order to study its structure - neatly unraveled and straightened out - under a microscope. Now, chemists and engineers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, have devised a strikingly simple and effective solution: they inject genetic material into a droplet of water and use a pipet tip to drag it over a glass plate covered with a sticky polymer.

27 Feb 2015

NIAID partners with Liberian government to test ZMapp drug for Ebola virus disease

In partnership with the Liberian government, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases today launched a clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The study, which will be conducted in Liberia and the United States, is a randomized controlled trial enrolling adults and children with known Ebola virus infection.

27 Feb 2015

Researchers reveal that mosquitoes’ sexual biology may key to malaria transmission

Sexual biology may be the key to uncovering why Anopheles mosquitoes are unique in their ability to transmit malaria to humans, according to researchers at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and University of Perugia, Italy.

27 Feb 2015

New research reveals that HIV latency is controlled by the virus itself

New research from the Gladstone Institutes for the first time provides strong evidence that HIV latency is controlled not by infected host cells, but by the virus itself. This fundamentally changes how scientists perceive latency, presenting it as an evolutionarily advantageous phenomenon rather than a biological accident.

27 Feb 2015

Researchers show how human antibodies can neutralize Marburg virus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and The Scripps Research Institute for the first time have shown how human antibodies can neutralize the Marburg virus, a close cousin to Ebola.

27 Feb 2015