Zika Virus News and Research

Latest Zika Virus News and Research

Friendly mosquito could be the next big step in malaria eradication

Oxitec, a company based in the UK, have developed what they call “Friendly mosquitoes”. These are bio-engineered male mosquitoes that would mate with the female to result in baby mosquitoes that die before they reach adulthood. This death before adulthood would be only for the female offspring.

25 Jun 2018

First human Keystone virus infection reported

Another deadly virus called the Keystone virus that could cause serious brain infection and is transmitted by mosquito bites has been found for the first time to be infecting humans. Until now the virus was noted to infect only animals.

22 Jun 2018

Rhesus macaque model could be useful to test therapies for congenital Zika virus syndrome

Rhesus macaque monkeys infected in utero with Zika virus develop similar brain pathology to human infants, according to a report by researchers at the California National Primate Research Center and School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, published June 20 in Nature Communications.

21 Jun 2018

Zika Virus: What Does the Future Hold?

Following the Zika virus epidemic that swept across Brazil between 2015-2016, Dr. Julia Clarke and her team begun working to establish the long-term effects of Zika, and recently discovered that TNF-a inhibitors can be used to prevent microencephaly.

18 Jun 2018

Scientists develop artificial intelligence platform to diagnose many diseases

A platform that can diagnose several diseases with a high degree of precision using metabolic markers found in patients' blood has been developed by scientists at the University of Campinas in Brazil

13 Jun 2018

New environmental monitoring project finds increased numbers of deer ticks in Southern Indiana

A new environmental monitoring project at Indiana University has found increased numbers of the ticks that carry Lyme disease in Southern Indiana.

25 May 2018

Zika detection breakthrough by University of Queensland

A cheap and effective tool that could save lives by helping health authorities target mosquitos infected with Zika virus has been developed by researchers from the University of Queensland and colleagues in Brazil.

23 May 2018

Study finds body temperature as major barrier to potential dengue, Zika vaccine

A major route toward creating effective vaccines against dengue virus and Zika involves the E protein that covers the surface of each viral particle.

18 May 2018

MIT researchers develop new versatile plug-and-play diagnostic devices

Researchers at MIT's Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices.

17 May 2018

Complex human brain may originate from fewer initial cells compared to mice and monkeys

The superior size and complexity of the human brain compared to other mammals may actually originate from fewer initial starting materials, new research has suggested.

4 May 2018

Ticks and mosquitoes a “growing health problem” says CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report warning people about the myriad of diseases that are transmitted via bites of blood-sucking insects such as ticks, mosquitoes and fleas calling it a “growing health problem” in the United States.

2 May 2018

Zika virus can be used for treating aggressive human central nervous system tumors, shows study

A Brazilian study published April 26 in the journal Cancer Research shows for the first time in vivo that Zika virus can be used as a tool to treat aggressive human central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

27 Apr 2018

Scientists improve growth of 3d brain models to better understand autism, dementia, schizophrenia

Salk Institute scientists recently have developed a method to make micro brain structures in the lab. These microbrain tissues are designated to be used in research for treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease.

26 Apr 2018

Repurposing existing antiviral drugs for multiple infections

Zika virus. Ebola virus. Influenza. SARS and MERS corona viruses. Existing and emerging viral diseases are an increasing problem, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has called for better control of viral diseases, but developing drugs for this purpose can be challenging.

25 Apr 2018

Using biomimicry for faster detection of disease outbreaks

Our immune systems are made up of billions of white blood cells searching for signs of infections and foreign invaders, ready to raise the alarm.

9 Apr 2018

New test detects Zika antibodies with high specificity

A test that detects antibodies against Zika virus in samples of blood serum with high specificity - and hence a low risk of cross-reaction with related microorganisms such as dengue virus - is set to come on to the Brazilian market before 2018 is out.

28 Mar 2018

Novel vaccine technologies can help better prepare for future infectious disease threats

Novel vaccine technologies are critical to improving the public health response to infectious disease threats that continually emerge and re-emerge, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Mar 2018