Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

New FluChip-8G technology could aid in pandemic preparedness

InDevR Inc., a Boulder-based analytical technology and life science company, today announced plans to launch a Research Use Only version of their FluChip-8G technology to aid in pandemic preparedness.

6 Feb 2018

New study explores how social contact patterns influence growth of epidemics

The first-ever long-term study of patterns of social contact in Hong Kong will improve our knowledge of the growth of epidemics say researchers.

6 Feb 2018

Research uncovers key process that enables Ebola virus to infect host cells

Researchers have identified a key process that enables the Ebola virus to infect host cells, providing a novel target for developing antiviral drugs.

6 Feb 2018

Researchers report technical advances in production of HIV vaccines

Research on HIV over the past decade has led to many promising ideas for vaccines to prevent infection by the AIDS virus, but very few candidate vaccines have been tested in clinical trials.

6 Feb 2018

The ‘Gesundheit Machine’ collects campus cooties in race against a fierce flu

It's turning out to be a particularly harsh flu season. The epidemic hasn't hit the University of Maryland College Park yet; students are just getting back from winter break. But in the close quarters of dorm rooms and cafeterias and study groups, the flu will come. And when it does, Dr. Don Milton, a professor of environmental health, will be ready and waiting to learn from it.

6 Feb 2018

Researchers reveal promising method for delivering cancer virotherapy

Researchers at Okayama University report in Scientific Reports a promising method for delivering viral DNA, able to eliminate cancerous cells, to a tumor. The approach, involving encapsulation of the DNA in liposomes, has the potential to enable intravenous delivery of virus-based antitumor agents.

6 Feb 2018

Research uncovers how viruses outsmart the immune system

How do viruses that cause chronic infections, such as HIV or hepatitis c virus, manage to outsmart their hosts' immune systems? The answer to that question has long eluded scientists, but new research from McGill University has uncovered a molecular mechanism that may be a key piece of the puzzle. The discovery could provide new targets for treating a wide range of diseases.

5 Feb 2018

Extending dosing intervals makes common multiple sclerosis drug safer to use

A commonly-prescribed multiple sclerosis (MS) infusion medication linked to a rare but serious side effect is safer to use when dosing intervals are extended, according to a new study led by MS specialists NYU Langone Health.

5 Feb 2018

Higher susceptibility of some babies to Zika virus has a genetic origin, study shows

Microcephaly, brain calcification, skeletal alterations, auditory and visual deficits - these are examples of the damage that can be caused by Zika virus in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy.

2 Feb 2018

Historic study involving Simmons Cancer Center shows effectiveness of CAR-T therapy

A historic study involving researchers from UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrates the effectiveness of CAR-T therapy, which uses genetically modified immune cells to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and young adults. The research appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Feb 2018

Tele-IPT can help treat depression in people living with HIV

Interpersonal psychotherapy is a common, in-person treatment for depression, but new research from the University of Georgia found that this type of one-on-one therapy can be successfully delivered over the telephone.

1 Feb 2018

Platelets play more important role in the immune system than previously thought

Platelets play a much more important role in our immune system than previously thought, according to a study published by researchers from Université Laval and Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec Research Center.

1 Feb 2018

Deaths caused by liver cancer have increased by 80% over last two decades

Over the last two decades, deaths caused by liver cancer have increased by 80%, making it one of the fastest-growing causes of cancer deaths worldwide.

1 Feb 2018

Viruses closely related to Zika may cause fetal brain damage and death, study finds

Two viruses closely related to Zika – West Nile and Powassan – can spread from an infected pregnant mouse to her fetuses, causing brain damage and fetal death, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

31 Jan 2018

HPV may hide in small pockets on the tonsil surface

Human papilloma virus, the culprit behind cervical cancer and some forms of head and neck cancer may hide in small pockets on the surface of tonsils in people not known to carry the virus.

31 Jan 2018

Stealth gene shuttles open up new avenues to treat aggressive cancers

Viruses have their own genetic material and can infect human cells in a very specific manner. They will then reproduce as directed by their own genes but using the resources of the host cell.

31 Jan 2018

Scientists gain better understanding of how the intestine repairs itself after injury

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco have gained new insights into how the small intestine, one of the fastest renewing tissues in the human body, repairs itself after injury caused by intestinal rotavirus infection.

30 Jan 2018