Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

SLU researchers predict potential high-risk areas for Zika virus transmission in the U.S.

Where in the continental United States is Zika most likely to occur? An early online article in the American Journal of Public Health by Saint Louis University researchers puts the bulls-eye of Zika transmission on the Mississippi delta.

27 Mar 2017

Scientists crack crystal structure of entire ZIKV NS5 protein

Zika virus (ZIKV), which causes Zika virus disease, is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. An infected pregnant woman can pass ZIKV to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Sex is yet another way for infected persons to transmit ZIKV to others.

27 Mar 2017

Study offers new insights into transmission of dengue infections

Transmission of the mosquito-borne dengue virus appears to be largely driven by infections centered in and around the home, with the majority of cases related to one another occurring in people who live less than 200 meters apart, new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Florida suggests.

25 Mar 2017

Astrocytes prove to be surprisingly vital players in the body's clock

Until recently, work on biological clocks that dictate daily fluctuations in most body functions, including core body temperature and alertness, focused on neurons, those electrically excitable cells that are the divas of the central nervous system.

25 Mar 2017

Scientists discover potential role for 'jumping genes' in ALS

By inserting an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-linked human gene called TDP-43 into fruit flies, researchers at Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory discovered a potential role for 'transposons' in the disease.

24 Mar 2017

Virus hydrophobicity could help in vaccine purification

A person doesn't have to get sick to catch a virus. Researchers hope to catch viruses for detection and vaccinations by understanding their sticky outer layers.

24 Mar 2017

Zika continues to plague babies in Rio’s sprawling urban slums even after Olympics

Many international travelers to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, openly considered skipping the games to avoid the threat of Zika.

24 Mar 2017

New CDISC data standard assists in development of potential Ebola treatments

The Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium and the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory announce the availability of a new standard to assist in the collection, aggregation and analysis of Ebola virus disease research data.

24 Mar 2017

One-shot vaccine passes key preclinical test in newborn monkey models

Newborns are highly vulnerable to infections and don't respond optimally to most vaccines because their young immune systems typically mount weak antibody responses.

24 Mar 2017

Researchers develop new way to assemble genome of an organism from scratch

A team spanning Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, Texas Children's Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has developed a new way to sequence genomes, which can assemble the genome of an organism, entirely from scratch, dramatically cheaper and faster.

24 Mar 2017

Majority of dengue virus infections appear to happen very close to home

The majority of dengue virus infections appear to happen very close to home and are transmitted from the same family of mosquitoes, suggests new research led by the University of Florida and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

24 Mar 2017

Researchers describe set of observable characteristics linked to congenital Zika syndrome

Even as the Zika virus becomes more prevalent — the Centers for Disease Control reports that the number of U.S. infants born with microcephaly and other birth defects is 20 times over the normal rate — researchers are still trying to fully pin down the identifying consequences of the viral infection.

24 Mar 2017

Researchers develop new flexible glass for microscopic medical devices

Brigham Young University researchers have developed new glass technology that could add a new level of flexibility to the microscopic world of medical devices.

24 Mar 2017

PSU research shows how viruses can undergo major mutations without losing ability to infect

Portland State University researchers have found that only about half the genes in a specific virus affecting single cell organisms is needed to infect a host. This means the virus can undergo major mutations without losing its ability to survive and infect.

23 Mar 2017

Statin drugs may offer treatment option for chronic liver disease

Statin drugs are widely used to manage high cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But in a new review of more than 50 studies, researchers cite reductions in liver inflammation and improvements in other related factors as reasons why statins make good candidates for treating chronic liver disease.

23 Mar 2017

Penn researcher receives $16.3 million NIAID grant to develop long-sought-after HIV vaccine

Building on earlier work in designing chimeric human-simian immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs) that serve as a model of HIV infection of humans, George M. Shaw, MD, PhD, a professor of Hematology/Oncology and Microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received $16.3 million over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a long-sought-after HIV vaccine.

22 Mar 2017

Review of research on wild primates underscores importance of super-spreaders in disease transmission

An extensive review of research on wild primate social networks and parasites underscores the importance of super-spreaders, or central individuals that play an outsized role in transmission of a pathogen.

21 Mar 2017

Treatment with interferon may ease symptoms of Ebola patients

A pilot study of a class of drugs used to treat hepatitis and some forms of multiple sclerosis has been shown for the first time to ease symptoms of Ebola patients, while also increasing their survival.

21 Mar 2017

Maternal infections during pregnancy may alter genes key to prenatal brain development

If a mother picks up an infection during pregnancy, her immune system will kick into action to clear the infection - but this self-defence mechanism may also have a small influence how her child's brain develops in the womb, in ways that are similar to how the brain develops in autism spectrum disorders.

21 Mar 2017

Sandia researchers develop smartphone-based device to rapidly detect mosquito-borne viruses

Add rapid, mobile testing for Zika and other viruses to the list of things that smartphone technology is making possible. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that weighs under a pound, costs as little as $100 and can detect Zika, dengue and chikungunya within 30 minutes.

21 Mar 2017

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

SLU researchers predict potential high-risk areas for Zika virus transmission in the U.S.

Scientists crack crystal structure of entire ZIKV NS5 protein

Study offers new insights into transmission of dengue infections

Astrocytes prove to be surprisingly vital players in the body's clock

Scientists discover potential role for 'jumping genes' in ALS

Virus hydrophobicity could help in vaccine purification

Zika continues to plague babies in Rio’s sprawling urban slums even after Olympics

New CDISC data standard assists in development of potential Ebola treatments

One-shot vaccine passes key preclinical test in newborn monkey models

Researchers develop new way to assemble genome of an organism from scratch

Majority of dengue virus infections appear to happen very close to home

Researchers describe set of observable characteristics linked to congenital Zika syndrome

Researchers develop new flexible glass for microscopic medical devices

PSU research shows how viruses can undergo major mutations without losing ability to infect

Statin drugs may offer treatment option for chronic liver disease

Penn researcher receives $16.3 million NIAID grant to develop long-sought-after HIV vaccine

Review of research on wild primates underscores importance of super-spreaders in disease transmission

Treatment with interferon may ease symptoms of Ebola patients

Maternal infections during pregnancy may alter genes key to prenatal brain development

Sandia researchers develop smartphone-based device to rapidly detect mosquito-borne viruses

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Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

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