Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Preventative HIV vaccines induce robust, comparable immune responses in humans and monkeys

More than three decades after the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus, scientists are still working to develop a preventative vaccine that could finally put an end to the epidemic for which there are nearly two million new infections each year.

9 Jul 2018

Zika virus-related pregnancy loss in humans may be more common than thought

Fetal death in utero occurred in more than one-fourth of monkeys infected in the laboratory with Zika virus in early pregnancy, according to new research published in Nature Medicine.

3 Jul 2018

Targeting proteins in semen could prevent sexually transmitted spread of Ebola virus

Protein fragments, called amyloid fibrils, in human semen significantly increase Ebola virus infection and protect the virus against harsh environmental conditions such as heat and dehydration. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report these findings in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

26 Jun 2018

AbbVie and Calibr collaborate to develop T-cell therapies aimed at cancer

AbbVie , a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, and Calibr, a nonprofit drug discovery division of Scripps Research, today announced a collaboration to develop T-cell therapies aimed primarily at cancer, including solid tumors.

25 Jun 2018

Researchers develop flexible "Plug and Play" technology to protect against emerging diseases

Researchers from GeoVax have developed a flexible "Plug and Play" technology platform that delivers single-dose vaccines that fully protect against emerging infectious diseases such as Zika, Lassa fever, and Ebola.

11 Jun 2018

Researcher develops nanoparticle-based tags to detect viruses and cancer with high sensitivity

How can we detect cancer and viruses with high sensitivity? Physical chemist Laura Fabris-;an associate professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and principal investigator of the Fabris NanoBio Group-;is addressing this very question.

22 May 2018

Nipah virus kills nine in Kerala, India

At least nine individuals have died due to the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala, India. Over 25 have been infected with this virus in the outbreak say official sources.

22 May 2018

Scientists identify new drug target to combat chikungunya virus

Scientists have identified a molecule found on human cells and some animal cells that could be a useful target for drugs against chikungunya virus infection and related diseases, according to new research published in the journal Nature.

21 May 2018

Microglia may play key role in slowing progression of prion diseases, research suggests

Prion diseases are slow degenerative brain diseases that occur in people and various other mammals. No vaccines or treatments are available, and these diseases are almost always fatal. Scientists have found little evidence of a protective immune response to prion infections.

17 May 2018

Mutations in EBOV-Makona do not alter disease-causing ability in animal models, shows study

Early during the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa, scientists speculated that the genetic diversity of the circulating Makona strain of virus (EBOV-Makona) would result in more severe disease and more transmissibility than prior strains.

9 May 2018

Cancer Center at BIDMC announces launch of new Immunotherapy Institute

The Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center today announced the launch of a new clinical and research institute that will build on BIDMC's long history of leadership in immunotherapy and cell therapeutics.

3 May 2018

Study finds no evidence of chronic wasting disease transmissibility in macaques

Chronic wasting disease did not cross the species barrier to infect cynomolgus macaque monkeys during a lengthy investigation by National Institutes of Health scientists exploring risks to humans.

26 Apr 2018

Why are Antibiotics Overprescribed for Meningitis Treatment?

Meningitis is a relatively rare disease, with our estimates for the incidence of meningitis in the UK being about 3.2 cases of meningitis per 100,000 adults. Crucially, bacterial meningitis is linked to significant morbidity and mortality - up to 30% mortality in pneumococcal meningitis cases.

25 Apr 2018

Study findings could open new possibilities for treating cancer with adenovirus

Adenovirus is a common virus that causes infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, eyes and gastrointestinal tract in humans and animals. Researchers at Umeå University study molecular mechanisms of infection in order to understand how adenovirus causes disease.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers develop new animal model to study Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease spread by ticks in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Infection with CCHF virus is fatal in nearly one of every three cases.

9 Apr 2018

New test detects Zika antibodies with high specificity

A test that detects antibodies against Zika virus in samples of blood serum with high specificity - and hence a low risk of cross-reaction with related microorganisms such as dengue virus - is set to come on to the Brazilian market before 2018 is out.

28 Mar 2018

Mystery 'disease X' warnings from WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about a mysterious disease X that is caused by a virus and can cause a worldwide pandemic in the near future. WHO has come up with a list of diseases that can cause an outbreak or epidemic among the general population, mainly because of the lack of resources for fighting them.

12 Mar 2018