Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Coronavirus could have spread to humans from bats via pangolins

A new research from China reveals that the novel corona virus that has killed hundreds of infected persons in Wuhan from the Hubei province in China and infected thousands across the world could have spread to humans via bats mediated via another species of animals – pangolins.

10 Feb 2020

Coronavirus spread via aerosol raises concern as death toll rises

The Wuhan coronavirus or novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has started to spread in a seafood market in Wuhan China before New Year of 2019 and has since spread to 25 countries and has infected more than 40,000 people. The death toll has surpassed that of the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003, and new developments in the virus’s mode of transmission raise alarm worldwide.

10 Feb 2020

When it comes to the new coronavirus, just who is a ‘close contact’?

Even as U.S. authorities have taken the drastic steps of quarantining residents returning from China, and temporarily banning foreign visitors who recently traveled to affected Chinese regions, they have urged the vast majority of U.S. residents to go about their regular activities.

10 Feb 2020

Geographer produces new interactive map to show worldwide spread of coronavirus

As scientists pin down the origin, governments enact prevention measures and labs look for a cure, news about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus often comes down to two questions: where and how many people are infected?

10 Feb 2020

Five-year $3.7 million dollar grant supports research on evolution of viruses

The evolution of viruses will be the focus of a five-year $3.7 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation's new program on convergence research, to an interdisciplinary team led by Penn State.

10 Feb 2020

Novel innate immunity factor inhibits HIV infection by targeting lipid rafts, study finds

The human protein apolipoprotein A-I binding protein inhibits HIV replication by targeting lipid rafts and reducing virus-cell fusion, according to a new study published in the premier American Society for Microbiology journal mBio by researchers from the George Washington University.

10 Feb 2020

Youth with HIV have lower rates of viral suppression than adults

Despite similar rates of enrollment into medical care, youth with HIV have much lower rates of viral suppression--reducing HIV to undetectable levels--compared to adults, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.

10 Feb 2020

Protein Data Bank archive releases new coronavirus protease structure

The Protein Data Bank archive, which contains more than 160,000 3D structures for proteins, DNA, and RNA, this month released a new Coronavirus protease structure following the recent coronavirus outbreak, an ongoing viral epidemic primarily affecting mainland China that now threatens to spread to populations in other parts of the world.

10 Feb 2020

Single dose of HPV vaccine is effective for preventing preinvasive cervical disease

New research indicates that a single dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine is as effective as multiple doses for preventing preinvasive cervical disease, which can later develop into cervical cancer.

10 Feb 2020

UK facing a major coronavirus outbreak, experts warn

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or Wuhan coronavirus) is spreading like wildfire across the globe and health officials are racing to contain the virus. Experts in the United Kingdom warn that the country is facing a major coronavirus outbreak in the coming weeks as the number of confirmed cases rises to four, as more than 25 countries have reported increasing case toll.

9 Feb 2020

CSU researchers uncover new information on replication of viruses

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Colorado State University has used computational chemistry, biochemistry and virology to uncover new information on how viruses such as West Nile, dengue and Zika replicate.

9 Feb 2020

Researchers reveal how long coronaviruses persist on surfaces and a way for inactivation

The novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV is making headlines worldwide. Since there is no specific therapy against it, the prevention of infection is of particular importance in order to stem the epidemic.

9 Feb 2020

New gene therapy improves vision in blind mice

Mice born blind have shown significant improvement in vision after undergoing a new gene therapy developed by a team of Japanese scientists.

7 Feb 2020

GSMA's latest update on coronavirus

The GSMA continues to monitor and assess the potential impact of the Coronavirus on MWC Barcelona 2020.

7 Feb 2020

Gene therapy approach could pave the way for treatment of Stargardt disease

A leading Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford has shared the details of his research which could pave the way for a new treatment for sight loss condition Stargardt disease.

7 Feb 2020

GlobalData: Deploying robots in coronavirus fight may not be necessary

The medical technology industry is stepping up to help fight the spread of coronavirus in some cases deploying robot technology.

6 Feb 2020

Panicky responses to coronavirus may create many more problems

The new coronavirus is still spreading rapidly, in and out of China. By January 31, barely a month after the new pathogen's appearance on the world stage, already 62 countries had imposed restrictions on the entry of Chinese citizens.

6 Feb 2020

SUNY Downstate epidemiologist is part of international initiative to uncover clues on coronavirus

Twice each day, SUNY Downstate School of Public Health evolutionary epidemiologist Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, PhD, joins a global group of scientists in reviewing a worldwide database of the latest genomic information about the Wuhan strain of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that so far has infected more than 28,000 people, including more than 250 outside of China, and resulted in at least 560 deaths.

6 Feb 2020

Coronavirus - pandemic or not?

The coronavirus strain called 2019-nCoV has been causing widespread illness in China, with 28,276 affected by the virus and over 565 deaths worldwide, mostly in China. As of now, it is already more deadly than the SARS epidemic that raged between 2002 and 2004.

6 Feb 2020

CDC diagnostic coronavirus test gets FDA emergency approval

In the light of the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic in China, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of a diagnostic test for use in emergency situations (emergency use authorization or EUA). The viral infection has spread to many different and distant parts of the world, involving over 25,000 people and causing nearly 600 deaths since it started in December 2019.

6 Feb 2020