Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Protecting infants from viral infections may prevent the development of asthma late in childhood

Researchers studied 198 children at high risk of atopy, from birth to five years. All episodes of acute respiratory illness in the first year were recorded, and nasal aspirates were collected for viral identification.

20 Apr 2007

Discovery may change thinking on how viruses invade the brain

A molecule thought crucial to ferrying the deadly rabies virus into the brain, where it eventually kills, apparently isn't.

20 Apr 2007

Natural ingredient in human blood found to block HIV-1

A new study has pinpointed a natural ingredient of human blood that effectively blocks HIV-1, the virus predominantly responsible for human AIDS, from infecting immune cells and multiplying.

20 Apr 2007

Early-life respiratory viral infections, atopic sensitization, and risk of subsequent development of persistent asthma

Protecting infants from viral infections may prevent the development of asthma late in childhood, according to new research in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).

20 Apr 2007

Researchers identify key gene that may be a marker of breast cancer metastasis

Despite the fact that they both infect the liver, the hepatitis A and hepatitis C viruses actually have very little in common.

19 Apr 2007

Researchers find hepatitis A and hepatitis C attack same protein to block immune defenses

Despite the fact that they both infect the liver, the hepatitis A and hepatitis C viruses actually have very little in common.

19 Apr 2007

Flu can actually trigger heart attacks

Doctors need to take concerted action to ensure that people who are at risk of heart disease receive the influenza vaccine every autumn, according to the authors of a new report published in the European Heart Journal.

19 Apr 2007

No one gets the blame but turkey company gets compensated for bird flu scare

A turkey producer in Britain has been awarded compensation to the tune of almost 600,000 pounds following an outbreak of bird flu at a farm there earlier in the year.

19 Apr 2007

Natural blood ingredient prevents HIV

Scientists in Germany scientists say they have discovered a natural ingredient in human blood that prevents the HIV-1 virus from infecting immune cells.

19 Apr 2007

Rotavirus can spread beyond the intestine into blood

A new study in PLoS Medicine has shown that children who have rotavirus, a very common cause of diarrhea in children, and who have antigens (protein fragments from the surface of the virus) in their blood, also have infectious virus in their blood.

18 Apr 2007

FDA approves new bird flu vaccine from sanofi pasteur

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the first approval in the United States of a vaccine for humans against the H5N1 influenza virus, commonly known as avian or bird flu.

18 Apr 2007

Scientists tackle cancer with different approaches

Studies presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research show how researchers are using the new, as well as the natural, to help design and test new drugs to treat cancer.

18 Apr 2007

Cell Genesys reports data from clinical trials of GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer

Evaluation of antibody responses in patients with advanced prostate cancer from these studies shows that the GVAX cell-based immunotherapy induces antibody responses to a broad array of prostate cancer- associated antigens, including some not previously known to be associated with prostate cancer.

18 Apr 2007

Taking a jab at cancer by stimulating the immune system

As the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine, designed to protect against human papillomavirus, has moved from scientific discussion to social debate, other vaccine studies are continuing to make progress.

18 Apr 2007

Controlling impact of Ebola - new vaccines could control impact of Ebola on wild apes

Why have large outbreaks of Ebola virus killed tens of thousands of gorillas and chimpanzees over the last decade? Observations published in the May issue of The American Naturalist provide new clues, suggesting that outbreaks may be amplified by Ebola transmission between ape social groups.

17 Apr 2007

H5N1 western genomes sequenced

In a paper in the May issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases , an international team of researchers report the first ever large-scale sequencing of western genomes of the deadly avian influenza virus, H5N1.

17 Apr 2007

Too many of the world's poor still denied HIV drugs

According to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS and UNICEF, only 28% of the world's poor with HIV have access to the antiretroviral drugs that could save their lives.

17 Apr 2007

U.S. ready for bird flu

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has approved for the first time a vaccine to prevent bird flu in humans.

17 Apr 2007

Potential biomarkers for early detection of liver cancer

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have discovered a means for early detection of liver cancer.

16 Apr 2007

Bristol-Myers Squibb announces new results of Baraclude (entecavir) resistance monitoring program

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced new results of the Baraclude (entecavir) resistance monitoring program, which found a continued low incidence of resistance in studies of nucleoside-naive chronic hepatitis B patients through four years of treatment.

16 Apr 2007