Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Scientists create new strain of polio to protect vaccine factory workers

"Scientists have created new strains of polio intended to protect workers in factories that make polio vaccine," the New York Times reports.

20 Feb 2013

UCLA plays a vital role in ongoing research into Rasmussen encephalitis

How do you find a cure for a devastating pediatric brain disease so rare that it can take decades to build a meaningful research base? In 2010, the parents of a patient created the Rasmussen Encephalitis (RE) Children's Project to help solve this problem. In a short amount of time, the foundation has raised funds to establish a consortium of top researchers, build a collection of samples of the disease from around the world and support projects to study the disease tissue and search for genetic links. The goal is to find a cure.

20 Feb 2013

New coronavirus could potentially be treated with immunotherapy

The new coronavirus that has emerged in the Middle East is well-adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with immunotherapy, according to a study to be published on February 19 in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

20 Feb 2013

SARS-linked virus well adapted to infect humans, could be treated with drugs to boost immune system, study shows

"A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday," Reuters reports, noting, "The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, is from the same family as the common cold and as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome."

19 Feb 2013

BioCryst fourth quarter revenues decrease to $4.1 million

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.

19 Feb 2013

New lab at Diamond to help scientists delve into inner workings of pathogens

The UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, is now the first and only place in Europe where pathogens requiring Containment Level 3 - including serious viruses such as those responsible for AIDS, Hepatitis and some types of flu - can be analysed at atomic and molecular level using synchrotron light.

18 Feb 2013

Two studies discover new enzyme that acts as a sensor of innate immunity

Two studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center could lead to new treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases and strengthen current therapies for viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections.

16 Feb 2013

Biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems may also provide protection against diseases

The richer the assortment of amphibian species in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs.

16 Feb 2013

Patients with untreated depression are poorly protected by shingles vaccination

Results from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest a link between untreated depression in older adults and decreased effectiveness of the herpes zoster, or shingles, vaccine.

16 Feb 2013

New approach could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for HIV patients

A research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has discovered an approach that could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for patients.

16 Feb 2013

Obama's Medicare drug rebate plan could save the government money, but also hit drug industry's bottom line

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama renewed a proposal to use drug rebates to save Medicare money -- a step that would trigger strong opposition from pharmaceutical companies.

16 Feb 2013

FDA approves Novartis’ Zortress to prevent organ rejection after liver transplantation in adults

Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress (everolimus) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a liver transplant.

16 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 15, 2013

Today's headlines include news about how the health law's insurance exchanges are taking shape.

15 Feb 2013

New research focuses on rapid identification of disease outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, announced new research focused on the rapid identification of disease outbreaks in the peer reviewed publication, Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

15 Feb 2013

Researchers solve complete 3-D structure of E6 proteins in HPV 16

For the first time, researchers from the Laboratoire biotechnologie et signalisation cellulaire at the Strasbourg-based Ecole supérieure de biotechnologie (CNRS/Université de Strasbourg) and Institut de génétique et de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire (CNRS/Université de Strasbourg/Inserm) have solved the three-dimensional structure of an important oncoprotein involved in cell proliferation and in the development of the human papilloma virus (HPV).

14 Feb 2013

Cambodia, China report cases of avian influenza H5N1

"Cambodia reported on Wednesday that another four-year-old girl has contracted avian influenza H5N1, becoming the seventh person who infected the virus in 2013," Xinhua reports.

14 Feb 2013

Eleventh global case of SARS-linked virus confirmed in U.K.

"British officials say a mysterious virus related to SARS may have spread between humans, as they confirmed the 11th case worldwide of the new coronavirus in a patient who they say probably caught it from a family member," the Associated Press reports.

14 Feb 2013

GSK1322322 targets gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant strains of MRSA

An increasing number of bacteria is evolving antibiotic resistance. Much-feared representatives of this steadily growing group include Staphylococci strains. At this point, multi-resistant forms of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus - the "hospital germ" known commonly by its acronym, MRSA - can only be treated with a select subset of antibiotics as many drugs have simply stopped working. This is precisely why the field of medicine is in desperate need of new treatment options.

14 Feb 2013

Study finds human MPV as second most common cause of severe bronchiolitis in young children

New Vanderbilt-led research published in the Feb. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has identified the relatively unknown human metapneumovirus (MPV) as the second most common cause of severe bronchiolitis in young children.

14 Feb 2013

Tousled-like kinases play a key role in suppression and activation of herpesviruses

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) hide within the worldwide human population. While dormant in the vast majority of those infected, these active herpesviruses can develop into several forms of cancer.

14 Feb 2013