Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Psilocybin helps reduce depression in clinicians amid COVID-19 crisis

Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy resulted in significant reductions in depression among clinicians who provided front-line COVID-19 care in 2020 and 2021.

5 Dec 2024

Chikungunya's health and economic impact likely underestimated

This study assesses chikungunya's health and economic impacts, revealing significant burdens on health systems and a global cost of approximately $49.9 billion.

5 Dec 2024

New research sheds light on how monkeys avoid hepatitis B infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a leading cause of chronic liver diseases, that spreads among individuals through blood or body fluids.

4 Dec 2024

Nursing homes fell behind on vaccinating patients for covid

It seems no one is taking covid-19 seriously anymore, said Mollee Loveland, a nursing home aide who lives outside Pittsburgh.

4 Dec 2024

Long Covid in teenagers shows significant improvement within two years

Most young people who were confirmed to have long Covid three months after a positive PCR test had recovered within 24 months, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

4 Dec 2024

Advanced modeling unveils hidden costs of global chikungunya infection

The health and financial implications of the emerging threat of mosquito-borne chikungunya viral infection have most likely been significantly underestimated, with total costs probably approaching US$ 50 billion in 2011-20 alone, suggests a comprehensive data analysis, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

4 Dec 2024

Study finds T cell exhaustion in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Chronic fatigue syndrome creates conditions where pathogen-killing immune T cells become exhausted, according to a new Cornell University study.

3 Dec 2024

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein found lingering in brain regions

Researchers find that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein persists in the skull-meninges-brain axis, driving neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and heightened vulnerability to brain injuries.

3 Dec 2024

Nanozyme breakthrough offers new hope for viral pneumonia treatment

A recent study in Nature Materials introduces an inhalable nanozyme treatment for viral pneumonia, showing promising results in reducing inflammation and viral load in various mouse models. The nanozyme, CeTA-K1tkP, demonstrates broad-spectrum effects and biocompatibility, offering a potential new approach to treating pneumonia and other inflammatory conditions.

3 Dec 2024

Polypurine hairpins found to effectively halt SARS-CoV-2 replication

A study led by the University of Barcelona and the Spanish National Research Council's Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC - CSIC) presents a new therapeutic tool capable of inhibiting the proliferation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

3 Dec 2024

Inflammation and organ damage in severe COVID-19 tied to mitochondrial dysfunction

Severe COVID-19 arises in part from the SARS-CoV-2 virus's impact on mitochondria, tiny oxygen-burning power plants in cells, which can help trigger a cascade of organ- and immune system-damaging events, suggests a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, along with other members of the COVID-19 International Research Team.

3 Dec 2024

Pregnancy strengthens immune defense against flu, study finds

McGill University scientists have discovered that pregnancy may trigger a natural immunity to boost protection against severe flu infection.

2 Dec 2024

Study reveals pathways behind organ damage in severe COVID-19

New research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on the pathways that drive organ damage and death in severe COVID-19 and helps explain why survivors of the disease can experience long-term complications.

2 Dec 2024

Hypothalamic deep brain stimulation restores walking after spinal cord injury

Scientists have identified neurons in the lateral hypothalamus that can be targeted through deep brain stimulation to improve walking after spinal cord injury (SCI). This innovative approach shows promise in both animal models and initial human trials, paving the way for groundbreaking treatments.

2 Dec 2024

Great ape museum specimens reveal secrets of DNA virus evolution

Scientists screened great ape museum specimens for DNA viruses, revealing insights into viral evolution and host-virus associations spanning decades.

2 Dec 2024

Researchers discover new cause of cytokine storm in COVID-19

As part of the COVID-19 International Research Team, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pittsburgh and Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a novel cause of cytokine storm -; the extreme inflammatory response associated with increased risk of death in COVID-19 infection.

2 Dec 2024

Natural proteins may offer new way to treat covid-19 and autoimmune disorders

Some people naturally have higher levels of proteins that protect them from covid-19. New studies at Umeå University of our immune system may pave the way for more personalized treatments of both covid-19 and autoimmune disorders.

2 Dec 2024

Reinstating masking curbs hospital viral outbreaks, study confirms

Researchers investigate how changes in hospital policies for SARS-CoV-2 testing and masking have influenced hospital-acquired respiratory viral infections.

1 Dec 2024

Research paves the way for genetic control of disease-spreading ticks

Research collaboration by the Texas A&M Department of Entomology and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, creates potential for genetic tools to control disease-spreading ticks.

27 Nov 2024

DNA-based nanorobotic hand could block viruses and enable rapid diagnostics

A tiny, four-fingered "hand" folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report.

27 Nov 2024