Viruses News

May 27, 2024

Top Headlines

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 infection and therefore the risk of downstream ...

Ancient Viral DNA in the Human Genome Linked to Major Psychiatric Disorders

May 22, 2024 — New research has found that thousands of DNA sequences originating from ancient viral infections are expressed in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and ...

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 ...

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 drug-like molecules to do just that, by thwarting ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:47pm EDT

Century-Old Vaccine Protects Type 1 Diabetics from Infectious Diseases

May 22, 2024 — Researchers conducted a Phase III trial to test the 100-year-old Bacillus Calmette-Gu rin (BCG) vaccine in people with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Researchers Discover New Pathway to Cancer Cell Suicide

May 16, 2024 — Chemotherapy kills cancer cells. But the way these cells die appears to be different than previously understood. Researchers have now uncovered a completely new way in which cancer cells die: due to ...

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 ...

Repeat COVID-19 Vaccinations Elicit Antibodies That Neutralize Variants, Other Viruses

May 17, 2024 — A study has found that repeat vaccination with updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccine promotes the development of antibodies that neutralize a wide ...

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 ...

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 they're ...

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 ...

New Advances in Cancer Viral Immunotherapy

May 24, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new strain of vaccinia virus, which can replicate in tumor cells while maintaining increased immunogenicity. Specifically, it can to induce so-called immunogenic cell ...

Rare Health Condition Cases Surge During COVID-19 Pandemic

May 23, 2024 — A rare condition surged among previously unaffected groups of people during the COVID-19 pandemic and led to the deaths of nine patients, researchers say. The condition is a type of autoimmune ...

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 ...

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 ...

Activation of Innate Immunity: Important Piece of the Puzzle Identified

May 2, 2024 — Researchers have deciphered the complex interplay of various enzymes around the innate immune receptor toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), which plays an important role in defending our bodies against ...

New Strategy Could Lead to Universal, Long-Lasting Flu Shot

May 1, 2024 — An experimental influenza vaccine carrying more than 80,000 variations of hemagglutinin antigens caused the immune system of mice and ferrets to respond more strongly to less variable portions of the ...

An Electrifying Discovery May Help Doctors Deliver More Effective Gene Therapies

Apr. 30, 2024 — In an effort to improve delivery of costly medical treatments, a team of researchers in electrical engineering has developed a stimulating method that could make the human body more receptive to ...

Kaposi Sarcoma Discovery Could Facilitate Drug Development

Apr. 29, 2024 — Researchers have developed a model of Kaposi sarcoma that could expedite the development of new drugs to treat the disease, which is the most common cancer in people living with ...

Florida Dolphin Found With Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu

Apr. 26, 2024 — Report details first-ever finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in North American ...

How Immune Cells Communicate to Fight Viruses

Apr. 25, 2024 — Chemokines are signalling proteins that orchestrate the interaction of immune cells against pathogens and tumors. To understand this complex network, various techniques have been developed to ...

Can Climate Change Accelerate Transmission of Malaria? Pioneering Research Sheds Light on Impacts of Temperature

Apr. 24, 2024 — A groundbreaking study combined novel experimental data within an innovative modeling framework to examine how temperature might affect transmission risk of malaria in different environments in ...

Optimal Timing Maximizes Paxlovid Benefits for Treating COVID-19

Apr. 23, 2024 — A new study suggests using the anti-COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid three to five days after symptoms emerge in patients and expanding global access to the drug may help reduce the severity and ...

Odor-Causing Bacteria in Armpits Targeted Using Bacteriophage-Derived Lysin

Apr. 23, 2024 — A research team has synthesized a lysin that during in vitro experiments targets bacteria responsible for producing odors in human ...

Dengue Fever Infections Have Negative Impacts on Infant Health for Three Years

Apr. 23, 2024 — Dengue infections in pregnant women may have a negative impact on the first years of children's lives, new research has ...

New Technology Uncovers Mechanism Affecting Generation of New COVID Variants

Apr. 22, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new technology called tARC-seq that revealed a genetic mechanism affecting SARS-CoV-2 divergence and enabled the team to calculate SARS-CoV-2's mutation rate. Using ...