Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

New Mpox strain sparks global health alert

On Wednesday, August 14th, 2024, in response to the active circulation of clade 1 monkeypox virus (MPXV) in Central Africa and the recent expansion of a subtype (1b) thought to be more lethal and transmissible in East Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), paving the way for enhanced coordination between regional health systems and the active engagement of stakeholders to tackle this global outbreak. The following day, Thursday August 15, Sweden reported the first positive case of clade 1b mpox on European soil. This led the French government to place the French health system on maximum alert on Friday, August 16, and the French authorities have now begun to re-evaluate the health recommendations established in 2022 during the previous mpox outbreak in preparation for the probable emergence of cases in the country.

23 Aug 2024

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves -; between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community.

23 Aug 2024

New NSF center to tackle pandemic expansion challenges

Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Nina Fefferman became a mathematician because she loves puzzles.

22 Aug 2024

New genomic technique tracks superbugs in hospitals for faster infection management

Researchers have developed a new genomic technique that can track the spread of multiple superbugs in a hospital simultaneously, which could help prevent and manage common hospital infections quicker and more effectively than ever before.

20 Aug 2024

New RNA molecules in extracellular vesicles could transform cancer diagnosis

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new class of RNAs packed into tiny particles known as extracellular vesicles (EVs) that could revolutionize how cancer and other diseases are diagnosed.

16 Aug 2024

ProDOL revolutionizes protein quantification in living cells

Scientists have developed a new way of counting labeled proteins in living cells that could become a standard and valuable tool in the field of biomedical research.

8 Aug 2024

Measuring blood plasma viscosity in COVID-19 using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy

A research team led by MedUni Vienna has shown in a study that purely optical measurements of the viscosity of blood plasma may provide information about the severity and progression of COVID-19.

6 Aug 2024

World's first deaths from Oropouche fever recorded in Brazil

The world's first deaths have been recorded from Oropouche fever, caused by a mosquito-borne virus that has spread silently from the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, raising alarm among scientists.

2 Aug 2024

Oropouche virus: Emerging threats and unanswered questions

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Oropouche virus (genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae) is an arthropod-borne virus that infects several species of animals and humans, primarily in South America.

1 Aug 2024

Revolutionizing hepatocyte count for researchers

In this interview, NewsMedical speaks to DeNovix's Dan Schieffer about the new app developed for CellDrop, and how it aims to revolutionize hepatocyte count for the drug discovery industry, and more.

From DeNovix Inc. 29 Jul 2024

The CDC’s test for bird flu works, but it has issues

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a glitch in its bird flu test hasn't harmed the agency's outbreak response. But it has ignited scrutiny of its go-it-alone approach in testing for emerging pathogens.

26 Jul 2024

High mutation count in new COVID-19 variants does not increase immune evasion, study finds

New research from UNC Charlotte's Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) has found that the two recent and prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a high number of mutations compared to Omicron.

19 Jul 2024

Discovery of key RSV immune evasion mechanism offers hope for new treatments

Irish scientists led by a group from Trinity College Dublin have discovered how the dangerous Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) defuses our immune response and, in doing so, they have pinpointed an exciting new target for drug developers.

19 Jul 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': At GOP convention, health policy is mostly MIA

The Republican National Convention highlighted a number of policy issues this week, but health care was not among them.

18 Jul 2024

Autoantibodies against type 1 interferons linked to higher susceptibility to viral disease

A new study shows that about two percent of the population develop autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, mostly later in life.

18 Jul 2024

Flu viruses can use a second entry pathway to infect cells

Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a protein complex of the immune system, to infect cells.

18 Jul 2024

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

New Mpox strain sparks global health alert

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

New NSF center to tackle pandemic expansion challenges

New genomic technique tracks superbugs in hospitals for faster infection management

New RNA molecules in extracellular vesicles could transform cancer diagnosis

ProDOL revolutionizes protein quantification in living cells

Measuring blood plasma viscosity in COVID-19 using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy

World's first deaths from Oropouche fever recorded in Brazil

Oropouche virus: Emerging threats and unanswered questions

Revolutionizing hepatocyte count for researchers

The CDC’s test for bird flu works, but it has issues

High mutation count in new COVID-19 variants does not increase immune evasion, study finds

Discovery of key RSV immune evasion mechanism offers hope for new treatments

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': At GOP convention, health policy is mostly MIA

Autoantibodies against type 1 interferons linked to higher susceptibility to viral disease

Flu viruses can use a second entry pathway to infect cells

5 cases of bird flu reported in Colorado poultry workers, doubling this year’s US tally

Groundbreaking mRNA vaccine administered to captive elephant to fight EEHV

Optical metabolic imaging reveals how Toxoplasma infection changes host cell metabolism

Finland is offering farmworkers bird flu shots. Some experts say the US should, too.

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