Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Experimental microbicide containing natural compound provides protection in monkeys against simian version of HIV

An experimental microbicide containing a naturally occurring compound provides protection in monkeys against the simian version of HIV by diminishing immune responses to the virus, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2009

Three biomarkers found for Chikungunya fever

Three specific biomarkers provide an accurate indication of the severity of Chikungunya fever (CHIKF), which is emerging as a threat in South-East Asia, the Pacific and Europe, according to research conducted in Singapore.

4 Mar 2009

Advocates in Mexico call for greater effort against HIV/AIDS

AIDS-related mortality rates in Mexico have remained somewhat steady over the past 12 years, despite increased access to antiretroviral drugs in the country, officials at the National Institute of Public Health, or INSP, said recently, The News/Individual.com reports.

4 Mar 2009

Scientists create HIV strain that can infect monkeys

Scientists have created a strain of HIV that is able to infect and multiply in monkeys, leading to the possibility that researchers would be able to test HIV/AIDS drugs and vaccines in monkeys before testing them in humans, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Reuters UK reports.

4 Mar 2009

Increasing risk of HIV among seniors

People ages 50 and older are more likely to have unprotected sex than younger groups, increasing their risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to a recently released World Health Organization study, Reuters UK reports.

4 Mar 2009

Virus reveals secret to cancer spread

Cancer Research UK scientists studying a virus have unveiled an important clue to understanding how cancer spreads. Their research is published in Nature.

4 Mar 2009

Molecule provides clues about how HPV may lead to cancer

New research shows for the first time that certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), which cause cervical and some other types of cancer, can inhibit the production of a tiny single-stranded RNA called microRNA 34a, or miR-34a.

4 Mar 2009

Hair helps predicts HIV antiretroviral treatment success

UCSF researchers have found that examining levels of antiretroviral drugs in hair samples taken from HIV patients on therapy strongly predicts treatment success.

3 Mar 2009

Influenza A's resistance to drug Tamiflu increasing

Influenza A viruses (H1N1 subtype) that are resistant to the drug oseltamivir circulated widely in the U.S. during the 2007-2008 influenza season, with an even higher prevalence of drug resistance during the current 2008-2009 influenza season, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Mar 2009

Instant immunity through chemically programmable vaccination and covalent self-assembly

The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations - the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen.

2 Mar 2009

A new monkey model for HIV

By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals.

2 Mar 2009

Vaccine breakthrough in battle against bird flu

A vaccine to protect humans from a bird flu pandemic is within reach after a new discovery by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia

2 Mar 2009

Oseltamivir-resistant influenza A virus potentially serious to high-risk patients

A mutation of the influenza A(H1N1) virus that is resistant to the drug oseltamivir may pose a serious health threat to hospitalized patients who have a weakened immune system, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and being released early online because of its public health importance.

2 Mar 2009

Epstein-Barr virus may be associated with progression of multiple sclerosis

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the pathogen that causes mononucleosis, appears to play a role in the neurodegeneration that occurs in persons with multiple sclerosis, researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Trieste, Italy, have shown.

2 Mar 2009

Antibody recognition of a highly conserved epitope across influenza viruses

The discovery of the molecule, an antibody known as CR6261, is good news for researchers who hope to design a flu vaccine that would give humans lifelong protection against a majority of influenza viruses.

26 Feb 2009

Research points to new antiviral drugs and universal influenza vaccines

WHAT: Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, have identified a common Achilles' heel in a wide range of seasonal and pandemic influenza A viruses.

26 Feb 2009

Experimental animal vaccine may protect humans from Ebola

Protection against Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, can be achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

26 Feb 2009