Virology News

June 15, 2024

Top Headlines

Infectious H5N1 Influenza Virus in Raw Milk Rapidly Declines With Heat Treatment

June 14, 2024 — The amount of infectious H5N1 influenza viruses in raw milk rapidly declined with heat treatment in laboratory research. However, small, detectable amounts of infectious virus remained in raw milk ...

Virus-Like Nanoparticles Control the Multicellular Organization and Reproduction of Host Bacteria

June 11, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that virus-like nanoparticles can promote the multicellular organization and reproduction of host bacteria. These particles, which are evolutionarily related to phages ...

How Human Derived RNA Fragments Help the Hepatitis E Virus

June 10, 2024 — Why does Hepatitis E become chronic in some patients, and why do medications not work? To find out, an international research team led by scientists from Bochum observed a patient with chronic Hepatitis E infection over a year. Repeated sequencing ...

Giant Viruses Found on Greenland Ice Sheet

June 4, 2024 — Giant viruses found on the Greenland ice sheet probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us reduce the rate of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:04pm EDT

New, Modified CRISPR Protein Can Fit Inside Virus Used for Gene Therapy

May 30, 2024 — Researchers have developed a novel version of a key CRISPR gene-editing protein that shows efficient editing activity and is small enough to be packaged within a non-pathogenic virus that can deliver ...

Novel Virus Identified in Zebrafish from the Pet Trade Causes Disease in Laboratory Fish

May 30, 2024 — Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected ...

Oral Nucleoside Antiviral Is Progressing Toward Future Pandemic Preparedness

June 3, 2024 — Obeldesivir (GS-5245), a novel investigational small molecule oral antiviral, represents a new tool in the ongoing effort to prepare for future ...

Researchers Discover 'Trojan Horse' Virus Hiding in Human Parasite

May 31, 2024 — An international team has found a new RNA virus that they believe is hitching a ride with a common human parasite. The virus is associated with severe inflammation in humans infected with the ...

Antibodies May Aid Effort to Fight Influenza B

May 31, 2024 — Researchers have isolated human monoclonal antibodies against influenza B, a significant public health threat that disproportionately affects children, the elderly and other immunocompromised ...

Indian Ocean Surface Temperature Could Help Anticipate Dengue Outbreaks

May 30, 2024 — Although dengue outbreaks cannot be prevented, it is possible to anticipate them. Scientists have recently identified a global climate indicator that may help improve predictions about the magnitude ...

Bird Flu: Diverse Range of Vaccines Platforms 'Crucial' for Enhancing Human Pandemic Preparedness

May 29, 2024 — Review of research to-date suggests vaccination remains the most effective strategy for avian influenza prevention and control in humans, despite ...

Finnish Vole Fever Spreading Further South

May 28, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that bank voles in southern Sweden (Sk ne) carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. This finding was made more than 500 km south of the previously known ...

Mechanisms for Selective Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Strategy

May 28, 2024 — Researchers have demonstrated how B cells infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can contribute to a pathogenic, inflammatory phenotype that contributes to multiple sclerosis (MS); the group has ...

New Approach to Epstein-Barr Virus and Resulting Diseases

May 23, 2024 — The Epstein-Barr virus can cause a spectrum of diseases, including a range of cancers. Emerging data now show that inhibition of a specific metabolic pathway in infected cells can diminish latent ...

High H5N1 Influenza Levels Found in Mice Given Raw Milk from Infected Dairy Cows

May 24, 2024 — Mice administered raw milk samples from dairy cows infected with H5N1 influenza experienced high virus levels in their respiratory organs and lower virus levels in other vital organs, according to ...

Tracking Down the Genetic Causes of Lupus to Personalize Treatment

May 23, 2024 — Treatment of autoimmune diseases like lupus has long relied on steroids to knock down the immune system, but more targeted therapies are currently undergoing clinical trials. To make sure these ...

How the 'Home' Environment Influences Microbial Interactions

May 22, 2024 — A new study shows that real-world ocean conditions make a huge difference in how viral infection affects host bacteria. The findings indicate it is very important to study cells and virocells under ...

Drug-Like Inhibitor Shows Promise in Preventing Flu

May 21, 2024 — Currently available flu medications only target the virus after it has already established an infection, but what if a drug could prevent infection in the first place? Now, scientists have designed ...

Hope for a Cure for Visceral Leishmaniasis, an Often Fatal Infectious Disease

May 21, 2024 — Leishmaniasis is a tropical disease affecting a growing number of people worldwide. Each year, between 700,000 and 1 million new cases are reported. Caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus ...

Rabies Outbreaks in Costa Rica Cattle Linked to Deforestation

May 21, 2024 — Deforestation in Costa Rica raises the risk of cattle becoming infected with rabies by vampire bats, finds a new ...

Zombie Cells in the Sea: Viruses Keep the Most Common Marine Bacteria in Check

May 17, 2024 — Marine microbes control the flux of matter and energy essential for life in the oceans. Among them, the bacterial group SAR11 accounts for about a third of all the bacteria found in surface ocean ...

A Trial HIV Vaccine Triggered Elusive and Essential Antibodies in Humans

May 17, 2024 — An HIV vaccine candidate triggered low levels of an elusive type of broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies among a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical ...

H5N1 Virus from 2022 Mink Outbreak Capable of Inefficient Airborne Transmission

May 15, 2024 — Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was detected in dairy cattle for the first time in the United States in March, with nine states reporting outbreaks by May. While the method of transmission ...

An Active Agent Against Hepatitis E

May 15, 2024 — At present, there is no specific active substance against hepatitis E. As the disease kills 70,000 people every year, researchers are actively searching for one. A team may have found what ...

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Detected in New York City Wild Birds

May 15, 2024 — A small number of New York City wild birds carry highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, according to a recent ...

Virus That Causes COVID-19 Can Penetrate Blood-Retinal Barrier and Could Damage Vision

May 14, 2024 — Researchers have discovered the virus that causes COVID-19 can breach the protective blood-retinal-barrier with potential long-term consequences in the ...

First Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Transmitted from Cow to Human Confirmed

May 13, 2024 — in March a farm worker who reported no contact with sick or dead birds, but who was in contact with dairy cattle, began showing symptoms in the eye and samples were collected by the regional health ...

New Viruses That Could Cause Epidemics on the Horizon

May 13, 2024 — Suddenly they appear and -- like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus -- can trigger major epidemics: Viruses that nobody had on their radar. They are not really new, but they have changed genetically. In ...

Plant Virus Treatment Shows Promise in Fighting Metastatic Cancers in Mice

May 13, 2024 — An experimental treatment made from a plant virus is effective at protecting against a broad range of metastatic cancers in mice, shows a new study. The treatment, composed of nanoparticles fashioned ...

GPS-Like System Shows Promise as HIV Vaccine Strategy to Elicit Critical Antibodies

May 9, 2024 — A team has developed a vaccine approach that works like a GPS, guiding the immune system through the specific steps to make broadly neutralizing antibodies against ...

Marine Bacteria Team Up to Produce a Vital Vitamin

May 8, 2024 — Two species of marine bacteria from the North Sea have established an unusual and sometimes destructive relationship to produce the important vitamin B12. The team's experiments show that the ...

Progression of Herpesvirus Infection Remodels Mitochondrial Organization and Metabolism

May 7, 2024 — Researchers have found that herpesvirus infection modifies the structure and normal function of the mitochondria in the host cell. The new information will help to understand the interaction between ...

New Vaccine Effective Against Coronaviruses That Haven't Even Emerged Yet

May 6, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new vaccine technology that has been shown in mice to provide protection against a broad range of coronaviruses with potential for future disease outbreaks -- including ...

Promising New Treatment Strategy for Deadly Flu-Related Brain Disorders

May 2, 2024 — Researchers have found that a brain disorder associated with flu (influenza-associated encephalopathy, or IAE) can be caused by the influenza virus entering the brain from the blood via endothelial ...