Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

New study suggests why vaccines directed against cancer, HIV don't work

Researchers from the University of Missouri and Imperial College London have found evidence suggesting why vaccines directed against the virus that causes AIDS and many cancers do not work.

14 Dec 2007

U.S. efforts to monitor H5N1 could easily miss entry of the virus into North America

A University of Kansas investigator closely following the spread of the avian influenza known as H5N1 said that U.S. government monitoring efforts easily could miss the entry of the virus into North America.

13 Dec 2007

Shingles virus and vaccination

When a vaccine to prevent shingles was approved for use in 2006, the Food and Drug Administration recommended the vaccine for people age 60 and older who previously had chickenpox.

13 Dec 2007

Immune compound blocks virus' ability to hijack antibodies

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a controversial phenomenon known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection is suppressed by C1q, a blood-borne immune system compound.

13 Dec 2007

Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus strips away immune system's defensive measures

When the alert goes out that a virus has invaded the body, cells that have yet to be attacked prepare by "armoring" themselves for combat, attaching specific antiviral molecules to many of their own proteins to help resist the invader.

13 Dec 2007

Lethal human H5N1 influenza virus Replikin gene still upregulated

Replikins Ltd. has announced its latest findings regarding the virus replikin count in human H5N1 influenza virus. The company's software-driven analysis has found that the prevalence of these sequences has remained high in Indonesia; in addition, higher counts now have been found in China.

12 Dec 2007

Vaccine shows promise in preventing glandular fever

A new study suggests that a vaccine targeting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may prevent infectious mononucleosis, commonly known as "mono" or "glandular fever".

10 Dec 2007

Nanogen reaches milestone in influenza project

Nanogen, Inc. has announced that it has delivered the second phase milestone requirements, including the point-of-care prototype device to detect influenza viruses rapidly in clinical samples, to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their evaluation.

10 Dec 2007

International initiative to study viruses implicated in type I diabetes launched in London

The Virus in Diabetes International Study Group (VIDIS Group) has announced its formation and plans to launch an initiative to study in detail the relation between viruses and type I diabetes in childhood.

10 Dec 2007

Call for an early-warning avian influenza system

The international science community is not doing enough to track the many avian influenza viruses that might cause the next pandemic, a UC Davis researcher says in the journal Nature.

10 Dec 2007

New role for miRNA in leukemia discovered

Scientists here have found that mini-molecules called micro-RNA may play a critical role in the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) from its more treatable chronic phase to a life-threatening phase, called blast crisis.

10 Dec 2007

Chikungunya in La Reunion - new findings

Researchers have discovered the key to how a mysterious mosquito-borne viral outbreak swept over the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion in 2005 and 2006, infecting about 266,000 people and causing at least 260 deaths — the first fatalities to be reported in connection with the virus, known as chikungunya.

10 Dec 2007

Male circumcision

Circumcision is one of the commonest surgical procedures performed on males. Opponents argue that infant circumcision can cause both physical and psychological harm, while recent evidence shows that circumcision is medically beneficial.

10 Dec 2007

Chikungunya virus spreads to new vectors

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have discovered how a key protein switch allows Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) to spread to new vectors.

10 Dec 2007

Bird flu cases in China still a puzzle

Health authorities in China say the search for a causal link between a son and his father, both victims of bird flu, has revealed no evidence that the virus has mutated into a new strain.

10 Dec 2007

Bird flu comes to Poland just in time for Christmas

Another outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in Poland on the weekend means an extension of the export ban of Polish poultry and eggs for another two weeks.

10 Dec 2007

Ebola ravages Uganda as local doctor dies after treating victims

With the latest reports suggesting that as many as 25 people have now fallen victim to the deadly virus, the new and mysterious strain of Ebola has infected some of the medical workers who treated patients without the aid of latex gloves and respirator gowns.

9 Dec 2007