Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Researchers reveal key factor in understanding elevated cancer risk linked to gene therapy

National Institutes of Health researchers have uncovered a key factor in understanding the elevated cancer risk associated with gene therapy. They conducted research on mice with a rare disease similar to one in humans, hoping their findings may eventually help improve gene therapy for humans. Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of NIH, published their research in the Jan. 20, 2015, online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

21 Jan 2015

Changes in current Ebola virus epidemic could potentially interfere with experimental treatments

Researchers have tracked the genetic mutations that have occurred in the Ebola virus during the last four decades. Their findings, published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, identified changes in the current West African outbreak strain that could potentially interfere with experimental, sequence-based therapeutics.

21 Jan 2015

Study on influenza B viruses could help make flu vaccination programs more effective

An analysis of 10 years' worth of data on human influenza B viruses has shed new light on the pathogen which can cause the seasonal flu. Findings from this study could help make flu immunization programs more effective; by better targeting vaccines or by eventually eliminating one of the flu lineages completely.

20 Jan 2015

Johnson & Johnson announces sales of $18.3 billion for Q4 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $18.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014, a decrease of 0.6% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 3.9% and the negative impact of currency was 4.5%. Domestic sales increased 7.4%.

20 Jan 2015

UC RUSAL announces opening of new epidemic and microbiological research centre in Guinea

UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces that construction of the "Centre for epidemic and microbiological research and treatment" in the Kindia administrative region of the Republic of Guinea has completed.

19 Jan 2015

Researchers identify clusters of underimmunization, vaccine refusal in Northern California

Researchers used spatial analysis software and electronic medical records to identify clusters of underimmunization and vaccine refusal among Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics.

19 Jan 2015

Study: Century-old drug may help treat autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect 1 to 2 percent of children in the United States. Hundreds of genetic and environmental factors have been shown to increase the risk of ASD. Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine previously reported that a drug used for almost a century to treat trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, reversed environmental autism-like symptoms in mice.

16 Jan 2015

Increase in Lassa fever cases could be due to human-to-human transmission, research reveals

One in five cases of Lassa fever - a disease that kills around 5,000 people a year in West Africa - could be due to human-to-human transmission, with a large proportion of these cases caused by 'super-spreaders', according to research published today in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

16 Jan 2015

Early estimates indicate flu vaccine is providing little protection in US

Each year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) undertake flu vaccine effectiveness studies. Early estimates for the current season indicate that those people (all ages) who had the flu vaccine were only 23% less likely to have to go to the doctor because of flu (influenza).

16 Jan 2015

AbbVie gets European Commission's approval to market VIEKIRAX + EXVIERA for HCV treatment

AbbVie announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorizations for its all-oral, short-course, interferon-free treatment of VIEKIRAX (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir tablets) + EXVIERA (dasabuvir tablets). The treatment has been approved with or without ribavirin (RBV) for patients with genotype 1 (GT1) chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including those with compensated liver cirrhosis, HIV-1 co-infection, patients on opioid substitution therapy and liver transplant recipients.

16 Jan 2015

Mobile diagnosis device to help reduce unnecessary antibiotics prescribing

New biosensor-based technology could help to reduce the over-prescribing of antibiotics by giving GPs and other frontline healthcare staff an accurate and fast method of identifying the nature of infectious diseases.

15 Jan 2015

Study suggests that antibiotics may help fight norovirus

Antibiotics aren't supposed to be effective against viruses. But new evidence in mice suggests antibiotics may help fight norovirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus, report scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

14 Jan 2015

Universal vaccine against flu may be on the horizon, say researchers

The fact that this year's flu shot is not a good match against this year's influenza strain is well known, and has happened before.

14 Jan 2015

UH Case Medical Center, ABL partner to design and validate HIV drug resistance tests

University Hospitals Case Medical Center has signed an agreement with Advanced Biological Laboratories, an information technology and diagnostic company based in Luxembourg, to join efforts on the designing and validation of an HIV drug resistance and tropism assay based on next-generation sequencing (NGS).

14 Jan 2015

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma treatment may reduce risk of transmitting norovirus

Treating surfaces with cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) may reduce the risk of transmitting norovirus, a contagious virus leading to stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, according to a new study.

14 Jan 2015

Obstetric care during Ebola epidemic are deeply challenging

Obstetric interventions during an Ebola epidemic are deeply challenging say two new commentaries published today (14 January) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

13 Jan 2015

Scientists find that blocking hormone reduces stress-induced infertility in female rats

University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered that chronic stress activates a hormone that reduces fertility long after the stress has ended, and that blocking this hormone returns female reproductive behavior to normal.

13 Jan 2015

Virginia Tech scientists plan to design virus to switch wound-healing drug into cancer fighter

At the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, three scientists are planning to create a virus capable of destroying brain cancer.

12 Jan 2015

Study finds difference between results from IHC and quantitative molecular techniques

The cause of type 1 diabetes remains unknown. Several studies using immunohistochemistry (IHC) have independently reported hyperexpression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I on pancreatic islet cells in young patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Investigators have therefore suggested that HLA hyperexpression may be an important first step in the development of type 1 diabetes.

12 Jan 2015

Two medical organizations recommend use of HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Two leading medical organizations say that using a Human papillomavirus (HPV) test alone for cervical cancer screening is an effective alternative to the current recommendation for screening with either cytology (the Pap test) alone or co-testing with cytology and HPV testing.

12 Jan 2015

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Researchers reveal key factor in understanding elevated cancer risk linked to gene therapy

Changes in current Ebola virus epidemic could potentially interfere with experimental treatments

Study on influenza B viruses could help make flu vaccination programs more effective

Johnson & Johnson announces sales of $18.3 billion for Q4 2014

UC RUSAL announces opening of new epidemic and microbiological research centre in Guinea

Researchers identify clusters of underimmunization, vaccine refusal in Northern California

Study: Century-old drug may help treat autism

Increase in Lassa fever cases could be due to human-to-human transmission, research reveals

Early estimates indicate flu vaccine is providing little protection in US

AbbVie gets European Commission's approval to market VIEKIRAX + EXVIERA for HCV treatment

Mobile diagnosis device to help reduce unnecessary antibiotics prescribing

Study suggests that antibiotics may help fight norovirus

Universal vaccine against flu may be on the horizon, say researchers

UH Case Medical Center, ABL partner to design and validate HIV drug resistance tests

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma treatment may reduce risk of transmitting norovirus

Obstetric care during Ebola epidemic are deeply challenging

Scientists find that blocking hormone reduces stress-induced infertility in female rats

Virginia Tech scientists plan to design virus to switch wound-healing drug into cancer fighter

Study finds difference between results from IHC and quantitative molecular techniques

Two medical organizations recommend use of HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production