Virology is the branch of biological sciences that investigates viruses and virus-like agents, encompassing their molecular structure, genome organization, replication strategies, evolution, and interactions with host cells and organisms. It integrates methods from molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, immunology, and cell biology to elucidate viral entry, gene expression, assembly, egress, and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Virology also addresses virus classification, epidemiology, host range, and antiviral resistance, and underpins the rational design of vaccines, antiviral drugs, viral vectors for gene delivery, and oncolytic virotherapies, as well as biosurveillance and containment strategies for emerging and re-emerging viral diseases.
Just 10 viral particles of the H5N1 bird flu that caused hundreds of influenza outbreaks in U.S. dairy cattle can cause infection in cows, a new study shows. The research also hints at why the outbreaks have confounded scientists, ...
Ecology
Jun 15, 2026
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Aeron Tynes Hammack, a physicist by training and currently interim facility director of the Nanofabrication Facility at the Molecular Foundry, likes to work with nanoscale objects to better understand the world and solve ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 9, 2026
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11
When a rare but deadly rodent-borne virus struck passengers on a cruise ship and seemed to be spreading, there were no treatments for those who fell ill and no vaccines to protect others.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 4, 2026
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8
A new predictive model developed at Washington State University could help scientists more efficiently identify the reservoirs of emerging zoonotic viruses and dangerous pathogens like Ebola that can spill over from animals ...
Veterinary medicine
Jun 3, 2026
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8
In evolutionary biology, all life on Earth is theoretically part of a single phylogenetic tree, indicating common ancestry. This model suggests that every living organism can be traced back to a distant common ancestor. However, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 26, 2026
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23
America's bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research ...
Ecology
May 26, 2026
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19
Researchers at the University of Würzburg have unveiled a new tool for analyzing RNA molecules. It visualizes their structures as interactive maps and could help to improve our understanding of diseases.
Molecular & Computational biology
May 20, 2026
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10
Scientists attempting to determine whether or not hantavirus is present in Argentina's Ushuaia on Monday laid the very first traps to catch rodents potentially carrying the disease, AFP journalists observed.
Ecology
May 19, 2026
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7
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have shown that giant viruses long thought to exist only as fleeting, free-living particles that can embed themselves permanently in the genome of a multicellular ...
Evolution
May 18, 2026
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12
A scientific mission was set to kick off the search Monday for rodents that may be hantavirus carriers after an outbreak on a cruise ship departed this region at the southern tip of Argentina on April 1.
Ecology
May 18, 2026
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12
