Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Scientists identify factors that predict flu severity in patients

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a signature immune response that might help doctors identify which newly diagnosed influenza patients are most likely to develop severe symptoms and suffer poor outcomes. The findings also help explain why infants and toddlers are at elevated risk for flu complications. The research appears in the upcoming issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

10 Feb 2014

Sarepta Therapeutics reports positive safety results from AVI-7288 Phase I study

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of innovative RNA-based therapeutics, today announced positive safety results from a Phase I multiple ascending dose study of AVI-7288 in healthy volunteers.

10 Feb 2014

New study tracks spread of H5N1 variant in Egypt recently identified as major epicenter for virus

Since its first identification in Asia, highly pathogenic avian influenza-H5N1-has caused significant alarm in the scientific community. While the virus' primary target is birds-tens of millions have already died from it-it is capable of infecting mammals, including humans, causing serious illness and a frightening rate of mortality.

10 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Hot flashes, depression and anxiety affect thinking skills of midlife women with HIV

Hot flashes, depression, and most of all, anxiety, affect the thinking skills of midlife women with HIV, so screening for and treating their anxiety may be especially important in helping them function, according to a study just published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

9 Feb 2014

Finding could lead to first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus

Vanderbilt University scientists have contributed to a major finding, reported today in the journal Nature, which could lead to the first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

9 Feb 2014

TSRI scientists discover unusual protein that probably helps some bacteria evade immune response

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered an unusual bacterial protein that attaches to virtually any antibody and prevents it from binding to its target. Protein M, as it is called, probably helps some bacteria evade the immune response and establish long-term infections.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers develop multifunctional nanoparticle to pinpoint blood vessel plaques

A team of researchers, led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University, has developed a multifunctional nanoparticle that enables magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to pinpoint blood vessel plaques caused by atherosclerosis.

7 Feb 2014

Study finds links between degree of urbanization and prevalence of parasites in wild house finches

Humans living in densely populated urban areas have a profound impact not only on their physical environment, but also on the health and fitness of native wildlife. For the first time, scientists have found a direct link between the degree of urbanization and the prevalence and severity of two distinct parasites in wild house finches.

6 Feb 2014

TSRI scientists design artificial proteins as a candidate vaccine against RSV

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have invented a new method for designing artificial proteins, and have used it to make key ingredients for a candidate vaccine against a dangerous virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

6 Feb 2014

Researchers design new vaccine for human-infecting respiratory syncytial virus

Vaccines are the safest, cheapest and most effective way to protect against infectious diseases. But to make a good one is still a challenge, and traditional approaches are now stretched to the limit while fatal diseases, like HIV and malaria, remain without vaccine.

6 Feb 2014

Chinese scientists confirm world’s first case of human infection with new avian influenza virus

Scientists from China report in The Lancet on the world’s first confirmed case of human infection with a new avian influenza A H10N8 virus in a 73-year-old woman who died from the infection.

6 Feb 2014

Fraunhofer USA receives FDA clearance for IND malaria TBV that targets Pfs25 antigen

Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (FhCMB) announced today that clearance was obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an investigational new drug (IND), Fraunhofer's plant-derived malaria transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV), which targets the Pfs25 antigen, to proceed into the clinic in a Phase 1 safety and immunogenicity study.

5 Feb 2014

Study shows similarities in pathogenesis of neurological diseases and HIV virus

A new study by George Washington University (GW) researcher Michael Bukrinsky, M.D., Ph.D., shows similarities in the pathogenesis of prion disease — misfolded proteins that can lead to neurological diseases — and the HIV virus.

5 Feb 2014

New drug treatment effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage post shingles

A new drug treatment has been found to be effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage, also known as neuropathic pain, in patients who have had shingles.

5 Feb 2014

Alabama experts develop living document that includes new therapies for Hepatitis C virus

When treatment guidelines for a particular disease emerge, they are often published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, which can take up to three years. One University of Alabama at Birmingham infectious diseases expert recently helped develop new Hepatitis C virus (HCV) guidelines that can be updated and published as new data emerge and new therapies are approved.

5 Feb 2014

Discovery may have implications for HIV vaccine research

NIH scientists have discovered a mechanism involved in stabilizing key HIV proteins and thereby concealing sites where some of the most powerful HIV neutralizing antibodies bind, findings with potential implications for HIV vaccine research.

4 Feb 2014

Researchers use naturally occurring HIV variant to trace T cell lineage for 17 years

A team of researchers has reported a novel method for tracking CD4+ T cells in people infected with HIV. CD4+ T cells are critical for immune defense against an array of pathogens and are a primary target of HIV. In the study, researchers used a unique, replication-incompetent (defective) form of HIV identified in a patient in the early 1990s.

4 Feb 2014

Nearly half of HIV-infected teenagers, young adults forego treatment

Nearly half of HIV-infected teenagers and young adults forego timely treatment, delaying care until their disease has advanced, which puts them at risk for dangerous infections and long-term complications, according to a study led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

4 Feb 2014

Addressing antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Otto Cars, Uppsala University, Sweden

Antibiotic resistance is a consequence of antibiotic use. Bacteria adapt to the threat of antibiotics using mechanisms to overcome the drug. These bacteria, which we call resistant bacteria, then survive.

3 Feb 2014

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Scientists identify factors that predict flu severity in patients

Sarepta Therapeutics reports positive safety results from AVI-7288 Phase I study

New study tracks spread of H5N1 variant in Egypt recently identified as major epicenter for virus

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

Hot flashes, depression and anxiety affect thinking skills of midlife women with HIV

Finding could lead to first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus

TSRI scientists discover unusual protein that probably helps some bacteria evade immune response

Researchers develop multifunctional nanoparticle to pinpoint blood vessel plaques

Study finds links between degree of urbanization and prevalence of parasites in wild house finches

TSRI scientists design artificial proteins as a candidate vaccine against RSV

Researchers design new vaccine for human-infecting respiratory syncytial virus

Chinese scientists confirm world’s first case of human infection with new avian influenza virus

Fraunhofer USA receives FDA clearance for IND malaria TBV that targets Pfs25 antigen

Study shows similarities in pathogenesis of neurological diseases and HIV virus

New drug treatment effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage post shingles

Alabama experts develop living document that includes new therapies for Hepatitis C virus

Discovery may have implications for HIV vaccine research

Researchers use naturally occurring HIV variant to trace T cell lineage for 17 years

Nearly half of HIV-infected teenagers, young adults forego treatment

Addressing antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Otto Cars, Uppsala University, Sweden

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