Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Newly divorced middle aged women more vulnerable to contract HIV and other STDs

Newly divorced middle aged women are more vulnerable to contract HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to Christopher Coleman, PhD, MPH, RN, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, because they tend to let their guard down with new sexual partners and avoid using protection since they are unafraid of getting pregnant.

3 Feb 2012

One part of HIV/AIDS series examines Germany's government policies surrounding epidemic

As part of a week-long series, titled "Generation Positive," looking at the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and Washington, D.C., WTOP's Thomas Warren examines the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. compared with Germany, where he traveled as a fellow with the RIAS Berlin Kommission.

3 Feb 2012

Mexico sees spike in swine flu after two years of low transmission

"There have been 1,623 cases of all strains of flu in Mexico recorded so far for January, 90 percent of them H1N1 [swine flu]," compared to "about 1,000 flu cases in Mexico during all of last year," of which roughly 250 cases were swine flu, Health Secretary Salomon Chertorivski Woldenberg told reporters on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

3 Feb 2012

AHF calls for top to bottom shake-up of management at FDA

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today called for a top to bottom shake-up of the management at the Food and Drug Administration as well as a Congressional investigation following the publication of a Washington Post news article (1/31/12) that reported, "…the Food and Drug Administration secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of its own scientists and doctors after they warned Congress that the agency was approving medical devices that they believed posed unacceptable risks to patients."

3 Feb 2012

Opinion pieces discuss bird flu research controversy

In December 2011, the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) advised that two research teams that had genetically altered the H5N1 virus to be easily transmissible among ferrets redact some of the research details before publishing in the journals Science and Nature.

3 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Censoring flu research; Assailing Komen's move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

In December, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity made an unprecedented request: it asked the editors of the journals Nature and Science not to publish certain details in two papers describing experiments in which scientists created a highly transmissible form of the deadly H5N1 influenza virus. ... Such caution, though well intentioned, is misplaced.

3 Feb 2012

Immune cells from healthy individuals effectively kill cancer cells

Immune cells from healthy individuals can be the new immune cure for cancer. This treatment can kill cancer cells without destroying neighbouring cells. The hope is to eradicate cancer for ever.

3 Feb 2012

Skin cells converted to brain cells without intermediate stem cell stage

Researchers from California have successfully converted mouse skin cells into cells which develop into the main components of the brain. The experiment, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is notable because it skipped the middle “stem cell” stage in the process.

2 Feb 2012

Blood cell therapy works for nasopharyngeal cancer: Study

Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have made a breakthrough in the treatment of throat cancer. The researchers have developed a therapy that uses a patient's blood to grow special white blood cells that recognize and fight infected cancer cells. The results of this study have been published in the journal Cancer Research.

2 Feb 2012

Australian bird flu scare spurs widespread poultry bans

After the bird flu outbreak at two Victorian duck farms, other countries like Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong have placed bans on all poultry products from Victoria and across Australia. South Africa is also now asking certification that an Australian poultry import has not come from within 20km of the quarantined sites.

2 Feb 2012

Scientists establish HCV infection in liver-like cells derived from iPSCs

Hepatitis C, an infectious disease that can cause inflammation and organ failure, has different effects on different people. But no one is sure why some people are very susceptible to the infection, while others are resistant. Scientists believe that if they could study liver cells from different people in the lab, they could determine how genetic differences produce these varying responses. However, liver cells are difficult to obtain and notoriously difficult to grow in a lab dish because they tend to lose their normal structure and function when removed from the body.

2 Feb 2012

National Science Advisory Board explains decision to censor bird flu research

"Details of a genetically altered strain of the deadly avian flu virus are 'a grave concern' to public safety and should be kept under wraps," the 23-member National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity declared Tuesday "in a letter released by the journals Science and Nature," CNN reports.

2 Feb 2012

Poor quality vaccination campaigns, lack of government commitment helping polio spread in Chad

"Poor-quality emergency immunization campaigns and low routine polio immunization coverage are helping the polio virus to spread in Chad, with 132 cases reported in 2011 -- five times the number in 2010," IRIN reports.

2 Feb 2012

Tips to avoid infections during Valentine's Day

Say "I love you" with flowers, chocolates or a greeting card, but be careful when you kiss this Valentine's Day. "Mid-February is usually the peak season for infectious diseases, such as the seasonal and H1N1 flu, mononucleosis, colds and coughs," says Jorge Parada, MD, medical director, infectious disease at Loyola University Health System. "And don't rely on obvious signs of illness - such as sneezing or fever as a tip off. People with infectious diseases start shedding the virus before they experience the full effect of the illness."

2 Feb 2012

Natural resistance to flu could hold key to universal vaccine

Researchers have found that on infecting 41 healthy volunteers with different strains of flu virus, those with higher levels of a specific type of white blood cell were less likely to develop severe illness. Now the team of researchers hopes to mimic the natural resistance shown by some of the volunteers, by creating a vaccine that boosts levels of a particular subset of the 'T-cells'.

1 Feb 2012

Millions of faulty condoms recalled but many remain in circulation in South Africa

A large number of faulty condoms are in circulation in the Bloemfontein area of South Africa, despite a recall warns an HIV group. The problem with the condoms was discovered after people complained to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).

1 Feb 2012

Bird flu virus research and need for censorship

A group of scientists have been working on a genetically modified strain of bird flu. A federal advisory board declared Tuesday that the details of the research are a “grave concern” to public safety and should be kept under wraps.

1 Feb 2012

Peptides linked with internal flu viral structures can help develop universal vaccine

Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine flu.

1 Feb 2012

ASM to publish special commentaries on NSABB and H5N1 research

In response to recent actions of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details in upcoming reports about experiments with a novel strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will publish a special series of commentaries by prominent scientists, including the acting chair of the NSABB, weighing in on whether the recommendations were necessary and what role biosecurity considerations should play in the dissemination of research findings.

1 Feb 2012

Media outlets continue to publish expert opinion regarding H5N1 bird flu research

The PBS NewsHour blog "The Rundown" features excerpts from interviews with three experts discussing the recent debate over research conducted on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

1 Feb 2012