Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

New research reveals key steps in HIV's assault on the brain

Scientists have unraveled in unprecedented detail the cascade of events that go wrong in brain cells affected by HIV, a virus whose assault on the nervous system continues unabated despite antiviral medications that can keep the virus at bay for years in the rest of the body.

16 Nov 2008

Researchers say identifying women with HPV types 16, 18 and 45 could improve early intervention to stop cervical cancer

As testing for high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) emerges as the gold standard in cervical cancer prevention, scientists are already researching how to determine even more precisely who is most likely to develop the disease and thus are in need of more immediate intervention.

16 Nov 2008

Previously unknown regulatory step during HIV replication provides potential new target for HIV/AIDS therapy

A previously unknown regulatory step during human immunodeficiency (HIV) replication provides a potentially valuable new target for HIV/AIDS therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

16 Nov 2008

Analyses of Merck's HIV vaccine 'Step' study

Results from the Step study, a test-of-concept efficacy study of a Merck & Co., Inc. HIV vaccine candidate, were published online in two papers in The Lancet.

12 Nov 2008

Compound found that blocks SARS virus

A Purdue University researcher has created a compound that prevents replication of the virus that causes SARS and could lead to a treatment for the disease.

12 Nov 2008

Does HBV infection induce acute cellular DNA damage?

Eukaryotic cells employ multiple strategies of checkpoint signaling and DNA repair mechanisms to monitor and repair damaged DNA.

11 Nov 2008

XDR-TB declining in the U.S.

A new report suggests that the number of cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the U.S. has declined in the past fifteen years, but new cases continue to be reported, according to the study published in the November 12 issue of JAMA.

11 Nov 2008

Interferon eliminates specific causes of some viruses in heart failure patients, improving clinical outcomes

Giving interferon to heart failure patients with evidence of a chronic viral infection safely eliminated two viruses from their systems and reduced levels of a third virus.

11 Nov 2008

Astragalus root plant chemical used to fight HIV

Like other kinds of cells, immune cells lose the ability to divide as they age because a part of their chromosomes known as a telomere becomes progressively shorter with cell division.

11 Nov 2008

Researchers describe how cells recycle protein waste

Garbage collectors are important for removing trash; without them waste accumulates and can quickly become a health hazard.

11 Nov 2008

Protein called TIM-3 turns off HIV-fighting T cells

In HIV-infected patients the body's immune system is unable to fight off the virus.

11 Nov 2008

Epstein-Barr virus linked to inflammatory diseases of the mouth

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have found that a significant percentage of dental patients with the inflammatory diseases irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis also have the Epstein-Barr virus.

11 Nov 2008

Cells exhausted from fighting HIV infection can be rescued

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of California, San Francisco, have revealed new hope for HIV treatment with the discovery of a way to 'rescue' immune cells that are exhausted from fighting off HIV infection.

11 Nov 2008

New analysis of the mechanisms that drive evolution in viruses and bacteria

It sounds like a science fiction movie: A killer contagion threatens the Earth, but scientists save the day with a designer drug that forces the virus to mutate itself out of existence.

11 Nov 2008

Another outbreak of bird flu in Thailand has authorities on high alert

A dead chicken on a backyard farm in northern Thailand has signalled another outbreak of bird flu and comes six months after the country declared itself free of the disease.

11 Nov 2008

1918 Spanish flu records could hold the key to solving future pandemics

Ninety years after Australian scientists began their race to stop the spread of Spanish flu in Australia, University of Melbourne researchers are hoping records from the 1918 epidemic may hold the key to preventing future deadly pandemic outbreaks.

10 Nov 2008

Flu shots cut the risk of blood clots forming in veins

According to new research by French scientists flu shots may reduce the risk of venous thrombotic embolism.

10 Nov 2008

Gene therapy for advanced heart failure shows promising results

Phase I results of the first clinical trial of gene therapy for patients with advanced heart failure show the approach to be promising, with improvements in several measures of the condition's severity.

10 Nov 2008

The smaller the mozzie the nastier the bite

Experts have found that the smaller the mosquito the more likely that it is infected with viruses which cause human diseases.

10 Nov 2008

T-cell-based strategy for HIV-1 vaccines still viable option

The question of whether or not to continue to pursue the development of T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccines has been a source of controversy following last year's widely publicized failure of the field's most promising candidate, a vaccine developed by Merck known as V520.

10 Nov 2008