viruses

Virus Linked To Some Common Skin Cancers

harminka — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:55:51 -0500

A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

New effect on immune system of Vitamin D3

harminka — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:25:42 -0600

A group of proteins known as TLRs recognize molecules produced by microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses and trigger an immune response. Several approaches to targeting one of these proteins, TLR9, are being developed to help boost the efficacy of antitumor immunotherapies and vaccines.

Viruses, start your engines!

harminka — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:45:29 -0600

Peering at structures only atoms across, researchers have identified the clockwork that drives a powerful virus nanomotor.

MicroRNAs make for safer cancer treatments

harminka — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:08:23 -0500

Viruses -- long regarded solely as disease agents -- now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues.

New Astroviruses Identified in Bats

harminka — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:28:37 -0500

New research out of The University of Hong Kong, China and the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, Hong Kong suggests that bats are reservoirs of a newly identified group of astroviruses, a significant agent of diarrhea in many species including humans.

Midge-hunting scientists tackle spread of devastating bluetongue virus

harminka — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:31:11 -0500

Scientists at the BBSRC-funded Institute for Animal Health (IAH) are stepping up the battle against the devastating and economically damaging bluetongue virus. By combining ingenious ways to trap and monitor midges with cutting edge computer modelling and weather predictions the IAH team are gaining an understanding of how the insects spread the disease so that they can improve surveillance methods and advise farmers how and when to protect their animals.

A viral cloaking device

harminka — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:58:43 -0500

Viruses achieve their definition of success when they can thrive without killing their host. Now, biologists Pamela Bjorkman and Zhiru Yang of the California Institute of Technology have uncovered how one such virus, prevalent in humans, evolved over time to hide from the immune system.

UGA research may lead to safer, more effective gene therapy

harminka — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:32:34 -0500

The potential of gene therapy has long been hampered by the risks associated with using viruses as vectors to deliver healthy genes, but a new University of Georgia study helps bring scientists closer to a safe and efficient gene delivery method that doesn’t involve viruses.

New route for combating viruses

harminka — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:38:52 -0500

A unique technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs developed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral student has led to the discovery of a new mechanism by which viruses evade the human immune system. This discovery has important implications for human intervention in the battle between viruses and humans.

New cost-effective means to reconstruct virus populations

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:36:01 -0500

Researchers from the United States and Switzerland have developed mathematical and statistical tools for reconstructing viral populations using pyrosequencing, a novel and effective technique for sequencing DNA. They describe their findings in an article published May 9th in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.

Virus mimics human protein to hijack cell division machinery

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:56:26 -0500

Viruses are masters of deception, duping their host's cells into helping them grow and spread. A new study has found that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can mimic a common regulatory protein to hijack normal cell growth machinery, disrupting a cell's primary anti-cancer mechanism.

Trojan horse of viruses revealed

harminka — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:47:46 -0500

The vaccinia virus has a problem: it is a giant among viruses and needs a special strategy in order to infiltrate a cell and reproduce. Professor Ari Helenius and Postdoc Jason Mercer from ETH Zurich’s Institute for Biochemistry have now discovered what this strategy is.