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.
Permanently wiping out a disease is tricky business. Polio, measles, mumps—all have effective vaccines, yet they persist in certain pockets around the world. To date, the World Health Organization considers just two viruses ...
Biotechnology
Apr 7, 2026
0
34
Cholera-causing bacteria are locked in an evolutionary arms race with a viral nemesis, according to a new genomic study. Researchers have found that, in the Ganges Delta, cholera bacteria rapidly gain and lose special armor ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 1, 2026
0
10
In a new study of viral abundance over a short time frame in the Sargasso Sea, researchers found that almost all viruses with cyclical changes in abundance were most active at night—somewhat surprising when the team expected ...
Ecology
Mar 31, 2026
0
16
Novel marine mammal health surveillance can now detect deadly diseases in whales and dolphins in oceans, beaches and remote locations, thanks to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The portable unit delivers ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 30, 2026
0
6
In the game of survival, you can't always go it alone. Tiny algae living in the harsh conditions of the world's polar oceans appear to be better able to withstand the cold, high salinity, and extreme UV radiation, thanks ...
Antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella poses severe challenges to global food safety and public health. Researchers from China have now identified a novel bacteriophage that offers a highly promising "green" biocontrol solution ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 26, 2026
0
7
A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, indicates that while the COVID-19 virus has developed rapidly since 2019, it has done so within limited genetic channels. These genetic limits have remained unchanged. Despite ...
Evolution
Mar 25, 2026
4
197
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as dengue and Zika viruses, transmit widely across the globe, posing threats to human health and biosecurity. They spread through the bites of arthropod vectors, moving between ...
Ecology
Mar 23, 2026
0
8
With AI, it's now possible for researchers to predict the three-dimensional structures of proteins directly from their amino-acid sequences. But what biologists really want to predict, says Columbia biophysicist Hashim Al-Hashimi, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 21, 2026
0
20
Long before humans cultivated crops or sailed between continents, a group of plant viruses was already evolving among wild plants in Eurasia. According to a new international study published in Plant Disease, the ancestors ...
Evolution
Mar 9, 2026
0
20
