Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

HIV reveals another secret to its success

In HIV infection, a protein produced by infected cells penetrates immune B cells, preventing them from producing antibodies that could do the virus real harm.

20 Mar 2006

New understanding of the critical molecular factors that permit viruses to jump from one species to another

Researchers studying strains of a lethal canine virus and a related human virus have determined why the canine virus was able to spread so quickly from cats to dogs, and then from sick dogs to healthy dogs.

19 Mar 2006

Stray dog dies of bird flu in Azerbaijan

Health officials say a stray dog has died of bird flu in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

16 Mar 2006

Bird flu reaches Sweden and Denmark

The National Veterinary Institute in Sweden say that tests done in a laboratory in Weybridge, England, have confirmed that two wild ducks found on its east coast carried the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

16 Mar 2006

Inefficient cytotoxic T lymphocyte mediated killing of HIV-1 infected cells in vivo

HIV attacks the immune system by infecting and killing helper T lymphocytes (also called CD4 T cells), the white blood cells responsible for mobilizing the mediators of an immune response.

15 Mar 2006

Man-made chemical compound targets and kills tumor cells

A man-made chemical compound called ARC causes tumor cells to die but leaves normal cells unharmed, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago report in a study highlighted in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Mar 2006

Three dead in Azerbaijan from bird flu

According to government health officials in Azerbaijan, three people have died from bird flu there. They are the country's first known cases of the virus in humans.

14 Mar 2006

Cells have a natural defense against HIV

Scientists here have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that cells use to fight off the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

14 Mar 2006

Valproic acid may help slow the progression of dementia

Researchers have found that a common anticonvulsant drug improved cognitive function and appeared to restore nerve cells in the brains of patients with HIV-related dementia. The results of the Phase I clinical trial are published in the March issue of the scientific journal Neurology.

14 Mar 2006

New vaccines will protect against cancer

The leading cancer charity in Britain is predicting that thousands of cancers will be prevented every year as specific vaccines are developed.

13 Mar 2006

Researchers find a way to make plants produce more antigens needed for vaccines

Scientists have developed a new kind of molecule which they believe could ultimately lead to the development of a vaccine against HIV using genetically modified tobacco.

13 Mar 2006

Myanmar reveals its first case of H5N1 bird flu

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma has found the H5N1 bird flu virus in chickens in what is believed to be the country's first case of the deadly disease.

13 Mar 2006

Cameroon fourth African country to be hit by bird flu

Cameroon has become the fourth African country to be hit by the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

13 Mar 2006

Completely novel approach to fighting HIV infections

For more than a year, researchers watched patiently as a few computer-simulated HIV protease molecules squirmed into more than 15,000 slightly different shapes. In real time, this contortion takes only a fraction of a second.

13 Mar 2006

Chronic fatigue syndrome linked to glandular fever

A seven-year tracking study has prompted scientists to suggest that chronic fatigue syndrome could be the result of brain injuries inflicted during the early stages of glandular fever.

9 Mar 2006

Chickens, swans, cats and Disneyland - bird flu really gets around!

French trade unions have accused Disneyland in Paris of covering up the death of a swan in the midst of the escalating panic in Europe over bird flu.

9 Mar 2006

New hepatitis drug much more effective

Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is responsible for an enormous burden of disease throughout the world, including up to half of all cases of cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma, a cancer of the liver.

9 Mar 2006

Scientists create a mosquito resistant to Type 2 dengue fever virus

Researchers have successfully created a genetically engineered mosquito that shows a high level of resistance against the most prevalent type of dengue fever virus, providing a powerful weapon against a disease that infects 50 million people each year.

9 Mar 2006

Swedish theory suggests treatment for Avian Influenza Infection

Chemotherapy for a disorder of the immune system may - at least in theory - be effective against severe human avian influenza infection, this suggest scientists at the Karolinska Institutet.

8 Mar 2006