Zika Virus News and Research

Latest Zika Virus News and Research

Scientists develop universal FACS-based approach to heterogenous cell sorting, propelling organoid research

Researchers have developed three novel FACS protocols that can be used to isolate neural progenitors, astrocytes, and neurons from infected cerebral organoids.

19 Jun 2019

Scientists create 'mini-brain' for studying sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

National Institutes of Health scientists have used human skin cells to create what they believe is the first cerebral organoid system, or "mini-brain," for studying sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

16 Jun 2019

Researchers compare American, Pacific and Southeast Asian subtypes of Zika virus

Over recent years, Zika virus has spread eastward from Africa and Asia, leading to an epidemic in the Americas. Now, researchers comparing American, Pacific and Southeast Asian subtypes of the virus in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have concluded that the American-subtype strain has the highest ability to grow both in vitro and in vivo.

From PLOS ONE 10 Jun 2019

Trump administration cracks down on fetal tissue research

The Trump administration is cutting funding for fetal tissue research despite opposition from scientists and clinicians.

10 Jun 2019

Texas Biomed awarded $2 million DOD grant to study promising Zika vaccine

The emerging Zika virus is a particular threat to pregnant women. The disease can be transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito and is associated with devastating birth defects, like microcephaly. No approved vaccine against the virus exists.

3 Jun 2019

Tips to stay safe and well when temperatures soar

Dehydration, sunburn, heatstroke, insect bites, rashes, and lacerations – summer can spell health meltdown with a seemingly endless list of unsightly, uncomfortable, and potentially lethal hazards.

24 May 2019

Previous dengue infection could protect against Zika-associated damage

The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America has affected over 60 million people up to now. The infection can have potentially fatal consequences for pregnant women and their unborn children: many children have subsequently been born with malformations of the head, or so-called microcephaly.

18 May 2019

Study reveals long-term behavioral deficits after developmental Zika infection

Mice exposed to the Zika virus during later stages of gestation present behaviors reminiscent of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a study of genetically diverse animals.

From Society for Neuroscience 14 May 2019

Scientists investigate function of AAPP in mosquito blood feeding

Biting insects use a range of tools when sucking blood from hosts to maximize their chances of a good meal.

13 May 2019

Egg yolk precursor protein plays key role in regulating mosquitos’ attraction to humans

Feeding mosquitoes sugar makes them less attracted to humans, a response that is regulated by the protein vitellogenin, according to a study publishing May 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Jessica Dittmer, Paolo Gabrieli and colleagues at the Università degli Studi di Pavia in Italy.

10 May 2019

Long-standing immunosuppressive drug reduces Zika birth defects in mice

In experiments with pregnant mice infected with the Zika virus, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report they have successfully used a long-standing immunosuppressive drug to diminish the rate of fetal deaths and birth defects in the mice's offspring.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 May 2019

Dengue mosquito poses greatest danger of spreading Zika virus in Australia

Researchers at QUT and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia.

23 Apr 2019

Synthetic antibody rapidly prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates

A DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates, researchers report April 5 in the journal Molecular Therapy.

8 Apr 2019

New class of molecules could someday become basis for Zika-specific therapeutic

The Zika virus is widely known for causing microcephaly and other brain defects in the fetuses of pregnant, infected women.

4 Apr 2019

Study uncovers details about human immune response to dengue infection

About 40 percent of the global population is at risk for contracting dengue - the most important mosquito-borne viral infection and a close "cousin" of the Zika virus - and yet, no effective treatment or safe licensed vaccine exists.

29 Mar 2019

Research provides opportunities for biological control of insect-borne pathogens

Researchers from INRA, CIRAD, CEA, the University of Montpellier, and Chicago and Vanderbilt Universities in the United States have developed an innovative method for analyzing the genome of the Wolbachia bacterium.

27 Mar 2019

Researchers investigate whether Zika reservoirs are found in the Americas

Most emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic -- they make the jump from other animals to humans.

20 Mar 2019

Innovative model identifies primate species with potential to transmit Zika in the Americas

In the Americas, primate species likely to harbor Zika - and potentially transmit the virus - are common, abundant, and often live near people. So reports a new study published today in Epidemics. Findings are based on an innovative model developed by a collaborative team of researchers from Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and IBM Research through its Science for Social Good initiative.

19 Mar 2019

Premature babies also have protective anti-viral antibodies

Even premature babies carry anti-viral antibodies transferred from the mother, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a paper on maternal antibodies in newborns, published in the journal Nature Medicine.

18 Mar 2019