Viruses

Radical Numerics turned heads with its announcement about a novel treatment. Now a former partner, Tabula Bioscience, says it performed much of the research.

Radical Numerics turned heads with its announcement about a novel treatment. Now a former partner, Tabula Bioscience, says it performed much of the research.

The death follows reports of infections in cattle on dozens of American farms across the country over the past month and a worrying outbreak in mink.

Scientists are advancing a promising new way to fight antibiotic-resistant infections by using viruses that specifically target and kill harmful bacteria. An international team has released the first coordinated guidelines for personalized phage therapy, offering a roadmap for safely bringing this experimental treatment into clinical practice. Early findings are encouraging, with one study reporting improvement in 77% of patients and the disappearance of targeted bacteria in 61%.

The Ebola virus can cause severe, often life-threatening disease in humans. To replicate, it must enter human cells and exploit their cellular processes. In doing so, it encounters natural defense mechanisms that can make infection more difficult.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

Researchers have discovered a gene for a tandem potassium channel in an algal virus. The finding supports the view that giant viruses may have contributed significantly to the evolution of complex proteins. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have traced in skin organoids, how herpes simplex virus 1 infection progresses among neighboring skin cells, deepening our understanding.

The disease, which usually affects cattle, has been identified in a patient who died in early October.

Thriving alongside trillions of bacteria in the human digestive tract is a vast population of viruses. Ever since one such denizen of the gut microbiome, known as picobirnavirus, was first spotted decades ago, researchers thought it directly infected human tissue and played a role in gastrointestinal illness.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, yet antiviral treatment remains largely limited to the off-label use of ribavirin. Ribavirin can cause substantial toxicity, is contraindicated during pregnancy and does not reliably benefit every patient.

In warm climates like Southern California, multiple species of mosquitoes can bite year-round. While telltale red, itchy bumps are the most common side effect of mosquito bites, these pests can also pass diseases, like West Nile virus, on to humans.

The potential for a wider outbreak is low, but experts are still investigating how the disease-causing virus leaped from animals to humans in the first place

Much remains unknown about the origin of viruses and how they evolve - but hunting for answers has been the focus of Portland State biology professor Ken Stedman's eXtreme Virus Lab for the past 25 years.

A surprising discovery reveals that widely used anti-inflammatory drugs may unintentionally help dangerous viruses spread through the body. Scientists found that JAK inhibitors, prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, can weaken a crucial immune defense against influenza, COVID-19, and other infections. By suppressing genes that normally fight viruses, these medications may leave patients more vulnerable to infection.

Pandemics can arise wherever animal or human populations are sufficiently large, and they are not confined to the modern age.

Humans and chimpanzees share almost all their genes. Despite this, our brains have developed in different ways. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that a viral pandemic dating back several million years is likely to be part of the explanation.

French authorities have reported the first known human Shamonda virus infection. The patient later died, but investigators are still assessing whether the virus contributed to the death.

Shamonda, a livestock virus, has infected a person for the first time. The severely immunocompromised patient died in France, while investigators assess transmission and wider risks.

A study led by the University of Malaga has shown that outbreaks of Ebola virus do not occur randomly over time; rather, their appearance is linked to specific large-scale meteorological patterns, even with oscillations occurring in regions thousands of miles away from Central Africa, where they are currently suffering from an epidemic of this disease, which can be fatal.

Scientists have captured virus-like particles assembling themselves step by step, revealing how a surprisingly simple process of trial and error produces complex structures with remarkable precision. The discovery uncovers a crucial molecular turning point that speeds up assembly and could lead to new ways to disrupt viruses and develop vaccines.

France has reported the first documented human infection with Shamonda virus. The severely immunocompromised patient died, while authorities investigate neurological complications and the suspected midge-borne exposure.

Scientists have started work on a new way to fight cold and flu viruses by reprogramming the cells in our immune system to respond faster to infections.

An insect-driven disease that causes high mortality in white-tailed deer and mimics the symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle is still rare in New York state, but the warming climate may increase its future spread.

Bacteria and the viruses that infect them—known as phages—coexist in soils, oceans and living organisms. Scientists have long thought this coexistence reflects a microscopic version of an evolutionary arms race: As parasites and hosts continually adapt to one another, both evolve ways to survive. But a joint study by researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Exeter shows different pathways to coexistence.

Pennsylvania's measles outbreak has reached 1,286 cases across 42 counties, including 66 pregnant women, while doctors report congenital infections and officials warn of serious risks for mothers and babies.

A research team led by Distinguished Professor Giuseppe Pezzotti at the Biomedical Engineering Center, Kansai Medical University, has demonstrated that differences in the molecular structures of viral RNA can be captured as "Raman barcodes," enabling the identification of 20 SARS-CoV-2 variants and subvariants.

Certain viruses attack bacteria and can sometimes clear antibiotic-resistant infections. Researchers said they had tailored a virus to attack one patient’s illness.

Certain viruses attack bacteria and can sometimes clear antibiotic-resistant infections. Researchers said they had tailored a virus to attack one patient’s illness.

In the fight to find better treatments for bacterial infections, one rapidly evolving therapy is a group of

Listen to the session or watch below Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that could be next. Watch…

The Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak strains health services as resource shortages and gaps in contact tracing hinder response efforts, and researchers assess potential treatments.

Researchers at the University of Miami have identified a group of previously unknown viruses that bridge an evolutionary gap between viruses and cellular protein compartments, a discovery with implications for both biotechnology and scientists' understanding of the origins of life.

Yona Tugg and colleagues show that a polyclonal secretory immunoglobulin A preparation, purified from breast milk pooled from multiple donors, neutralized respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human adenovirus type 5, and H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses in laboratory assays.

Scientists have long used a powerful gene-editing tool called CRISPR to make precise changes to DNA. But a different version of the technology, known as Cas13a, targets RNA, the genetic material found in viruses such as HIV. Now, researchers at Rice University have developed an improved version of Cas13a that could make it easier to detect HIV and other RNA viruses in blood and environmental samples. The study was published in Cell Chemical Biology.

An international team of scientists recently collaborated to identify a mysterious viral disease damaging pepper and tomato crops in Chile.

Scientists have long used a powerful gene-editing tool called CRISPR to make precise changes to DNA. But a different version of the technology, known as Cas13a, targets RNA, the genetic material found in viruses such as HIV.

Rabies virus detection in cell cultures could soon become faster and more accessible, thanks to a world-first AI system developed by researchers at the University of Surrey's Institute for People-Centred AI (PAI) in collaboration with the Rabies and Viral Zoonoses team at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the challenges of protecting populations when a new respiratory virus emerges.

Researchers have uncovered a new way bacteria detect viral attacks: a virus-produced enzyme cuts a bacterial sensor protein, triggering a self-destructing immune response. The discovery could lead to more effective phage therapies against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and provide insight into ancient immune mechanisms shared with humans.

Friday, October 16, 2026 Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that could be next. Join senior AI reporter…

As they fly about their usual business of pollinating flowers, bumblebees could help protect fruit trees from disease by carrying a natural treatment directly to where it is needed.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world's top public health threats. Often termed a silent pandemic, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have caused millions of deaths annually. If left unchecked, the number of deaths attributed to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is expected to increase to 10 million a year by 2050, according to estimates by the World Health Organization.

New technology from Texas A&M AgriLife Research could be a major step toward bringing disease-resistant peppers and tomatoes to growers' fields and lowering costs at grocery stores.

Viruses come in two major flavors—not chocolate and vanilla, quips Harvard Medical School structural biologist Stephen Harrison, but those enveloped in membranes, such as herpesvirus, influenza virus, HIV and SARS-CoV-2, and those that are not, such as poliovirus, HPV, rotavirus and adenovirus.

A silent, long-running competition has been taking place in Swiss alpine lakes for millions of years, killing trillions of organisms every day without anyone noticing. This competition between bacteria and viruses pushes both into a relentless evolutionary battle.

Columnist Thomas Friedman argues that Trump administration policies on artificial intelligence, public health and diplomacy are weakening America's ability to respond to emerging threats.

How do we know when an animal virus might pose a risk to humans? Canada confirmed a human case of H5N1 avian influenza (often called "bird flu") in 2024, the first known to have been acquired in Canada. The patient, a 13-year-old from British Columbia, suffered severe symptoms, including respiratory failure, but recovered with intensive care in a hospital.

Scientists have discovered a new tick-borne virus in China that causes flu-like illness and may account for previously unexplained cases of fever, fatigue, digestive problems, and low platelet counts. Most patients with ALTNV alone recovered, but coinfections with another dangerous tick-borne virus were linked to more serious complications.

Researchers analyzed 44 Bundibugyo virus genomes and modeled how approved and experimental Ebola antibodies might bind the virus’s glycoprotein. The models predicted disrupted binding for Ebanga, conserved targets for MBP134, and different binding behavior for the complete Inmazeb cocktail than for two of its antibodies alone; laboratory tests are needed to determine whether these findings translate into treatment benefit.

Scientists have found a human gene lurking in a virus that causes skin infections. It may be using our own DNA to infect us.

For the first time, scientists have found a human gene lurking in a virus. It may be using our own DNA to infect us.

An estimated 38 trillion bacteria live in the human body—and only a small fraction are harmful to our health. However, the harmful ones can cause serious illness, especially when they develop resistance to antibiotics.

Researchers have figured out a missing piece of the puzzle of how human cells detect invading viruses and mount an immune response within an hour.

Humans and domesticated animals have lived together for millennia, and this relationship has shaped their destinies in countless ways. Animals offered people food, companionship, traction (pulling plows), clothing and transportation.

Biochemists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are using AI to tackle one of modern medicine's most pressing challenges: the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Using data collected in their lab, biochemistry professor Vatsan Raman and his team built an AI model to identify new possibilities for fighting bacteria with one of their natural enemies. Their findings, published in the journal Cell Systems, could help accelerate the development of alternatives to traditional antibiotic drugs.

Bacteriophages—or phages, for short—are viruses that kill bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for decades as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. But phages are notoriously picky eaters—a phage that can eradicate one bacterial strain is often powerless against others, even if the bacteria are closely related. This means a phage that works for one patient may be useless for the next.

The latest potato variety released in August by the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program, the Duncan Russet potato, delivers disease resistance that will directly benefit growers in the southern U.S., including Texas.

Some viruses appear to vanish when outbreaks dissipate, only to emerge again. Scientists don’t always know which animals they lurk in — and how to stop them from spilling back over.

Half of our genome is made of transposons — snips of DNA that can move and copy themselves. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk. The post How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine

When public health researchers want to know whether diseases such as COVID-19 or polio are circulating in a community, they can look for genetic evidence in wastewater.

The instrument, the first benchtop-scale platform in Asahi Kasei Bioprocess’s VANTIJ family, extends the automation and operator-focused design principles of the existing portfolio while simplifying virus filtration processes. The post Asahi Kasei Introduces VANTIJ ® SU-VFC Benchtop Virus-Filtration System appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is closely monitoring detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, in several mammal species in Australia as the virus continues to spread among birds and mammals worldwide.

A rare Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) on Kangaroo Island has been confirmed to have died from highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu. The sea lion had recently been attacked by a shark, weakening it. Testing revealed that the virus caused its death. Another dead sea lion is being tested.

Oxford University researchers have captured the step-by-step assembly of individual virus-like particles, revealing how simple molecular interactions can reliably build these complex biological structures. The results were published today (September 16) in Nature.

When you think of viruses, you probably think of flu-like symptoms and quarantines. Humankind has suffered from viral diseases ranging from smallpox to COVID-19, hantavirus and Ebola since the dawn of recorded history.

A new study illuminates the connection between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS), pointing to a causal role for reactivation of the virus in triggering MS attacks in people with certain genetic risk factors.

UTS researchers utilize the VACUBOY and VACUSAFE systems to enhance respiratory health studies, streamlining cell culture workflows and improving productivity.

When a virus mutates, the world usually finds out the hard way. Variants of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can slip past vaccines and antibody drugs before scientists fully understand what has changed. A new study from Harvard's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) suggests the hard way may not be inevitable.

When public health researchers want to know whether diseases such as COVID-19 or polio are circulating in a community, they can look for genetic evidence in wastewater.

The scavenging behavior of many wild birds plays an important role in the type, number and variety of viruses they have, a new University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found.

While the highly virulent avian influenza strain has only recently been discovered on Australian shores, researchers at Deakin University have been working behind the scenes for years, anticipating what an outbreak might look like.

As Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced public scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the D.O.J. has pursued a quieter and more expansive effort against a wider circle of researchers.

As Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced public scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the D.O.J. has pursued a quieter and more expansive effort against a wider circle of researchers.

In recent years, scientists have developed methods to measure a cell's transcriptome, or all the RNA produced by a cell, to study the cell's identity and genetic activity. However, these methods rely on killing the cell to access the bits of RNA within and offer only a one-time snapshot.

Some of Europe's most well-known historic manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have proven to be biological time capsules for uncovering the 3,500-year history of the sheeppox virus (SPPV).

Scientists discovered that more than 500 species of vesper bats possess two separate sets of antibody genes, an immune arrangement never before found in mammals. The surprising system could help explain how bats tolerate so many viruses without becoming seriously ill.

Some of Europe's most well-known historic manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have proven to be biological time capsules for uncovering the 3,500-year history of the sheeppox virus (SPPV).

Influenza viruses constantly shapeshift to evade recognition by the immune system. This shapeshifting occurs in critical proteins like hemagglutinin (HA), which controls how the virus attaches to human cells before entering them. Influenza viruses can evade immunity in two major ways: through the gradual accumulation of mutations that make HA harder for the immune system to recognize or through reassortment events that can introduce substantially different viral proteins and potentially lead to flu pandemics. To address this challenge, seasonal flu vaccines remain the primary approach because they can be developed to target the flu viruses circulating most predominantly in a given season.

Monkeypox virus used to be transmitted predominantly from animals to humans. In recent years, however, new virus variants have become increasingly capable of spreading from person to person.

The tide came in last week carrying thousands of dead sardines onto South Africa's south coast, and by dawn, stretches of Gqeberha's shoreline were flecked with silver.

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Every time your body fights a virus, cells are making split-second decisions that determine whether an infection spreads or stops.

The confirmation of Australia's first mainland death of a mammal from bird flu last week highlights New Zealand's challenge in managing the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

Scientists studying eight bat species uncovered genetic adaptations that may explain their exceptional longevity, cancer resistance, viral defense, and ability to repair or eliminate damaged cells. The post Myotis Bat Genomes Reveal How They Fight Viruses, Cancer, and Cellular Damage appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Bats are anomalies in the mammalian world—they fly, have long lifespans and rarely get cancer. Scientists now suspect the bat immune system enables them to live longer without disease, according to a new study published today in Nature.

Nearly half of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had a dormant virus flare back to life, and one family of viruses found in the majority of people was tied to lasting symptoms from long COVID.

The mosquito-borne illness has sickened hundreds of people this year

Every RNA virus — from stomach bugs and influenza to chickenpox and the common cold — has its own story to tell, with a unique combination of symptoms, rates of transmission, duration, and chemical blueprint.