Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Southern African development community should do more to fight HIV/AIDS, official says

Parliamentarians across the Southern African Development Community should do more to address HIV/AIDS in the region, Kasuko Mutukwa, SADC Parliamentary Forum secretary-general, said recently at a media briefing in Zambia's capital of Lusaka, the Inter Press Service reports.

25 Mar 2009

Experimental Parkinson's therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

24 Mar 2009

Philadelphia Inquirer examines developments, ethics in microbicide research

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday examined issues surrounding microbicide research, including recent developments and ethical issues. Philadelphia Inquirer examines developments, ethics in microbicide research

24 Mar 2009

New HIV/AIDS data released in Latvia

Latvia's Public Health Agency recently released data about HIV/AIDS in the country in 2008, indicating that the spread of the virus through heterosexual contact is increasing, the Baltic Times reports.

24 Mar 2009

Formal education curbing spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Formal education is helping to curb the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa after having opposite effects during the early stages of the pandemic, according to a study by researchers from Pennsylvania State University and published recently in the UNESCO journal Prospects, UPI/RedOrbit reports.

24 Mar 2009

New insights may help HIV and cancer patients

Important progress in understanding the function of tetherin, known to have both anti-cancer and anti-viral properties, has been made by researchers at the University of Bristol.

24 Mar 2009

Rewrite of the recipe for life - new type of DNA

In a dramatic rewrite of the recipe for life, scientists from Florida today described the design of a new type of DNA with 12 chemical letters instead of the usual four.

23 Mar 2009

Discovery of cellular process that fights type 1 herpes simplex

Scientists have discovered a new way for our immune system to combat the elusive virus responsible for cold sores: Type 1 herpes simplex (HSV-1).

23 Mar 2009

U.S. tuberculosis rate in 2008 at record low

Tuberculosis rates in the U.S. reached a record low in 2008, but the disease still disproportionately affects minority and immigrant populations, according to a CDC report released Thursday in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Reuters reports.

23 Mar 2009

Mozambican health officials advising HIV-positive women to breastfeed in some circumstances

Health officials in Mozambique are advising HIV-positive women to breastfeed their infants in certain circumstances, despite the risk of mother-to-child transmission of the virus, AIM/AllAfrica.com reports.

23 Mar 2009

Record number of HIV diagnoses reported in New Zealand

New Zealand reported 184 HIV diagnoses last year, the highest on record, according to recently released statistics from University of Otago's AIDS Epidemiology Group, the NZPA/New Zealand Herald reports.

23 Mar 2009

Increased schooling slowing HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa

Increased schooling across sub-Saharan Africa may be lowering new HIV infections among younger adults, according to sociologists, suggesting a shift in a decades-long trend where formal education is considered an AIDS risk factor.

22 Mar 2009

Tobacco for drug synthesis

Tobacco isn't famous for its health benefits. But now scientists have succeeded in using genetically modified tobacco plants to produce medicines for several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including diabetes. The research is published in the open access journal BMC Biotechnology.

20 Mar 2009

New TB vaccine developed using a genetically modified adenovirus

McMaster University researchers are about to launch Canada's first tuberculosis (TB) vaccine clinical trial with a vaccine totally designed, manufactured and tested within McMaster.

20 Mar 2009

Researchers investigate new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) - targeting not the virus itself but the human genes the virus exploits in its life cycle.

20 Mar 2009

Potential colon cancer being tested

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have begun testing a vaccine that might be able to prevent colon cancer in people at high risk for developing the disease.

20 Mar 2009

FDA issues warning on sharing insulin pens and cartridges

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert to health care professionals reminding them that single-patient insulin pens and insulin cartridges should not be used to administer medication to multiple patients due to the potential risk of transmitting blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and the hepatitis viruses.

19 Mar 2009