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.
In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. The finding challenges the dogma that viruses lack protein ...
A research team at the University of Würzburg has deciphered another aspect of poxviral gene activation. They have revealed a unique viral mechanism: A molecular ring anchors the viral copying machine to the DNA. Their findings ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 18, 2026
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Research at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) reveals that autonomous parvoviruses, such as canine parvovirus, are highly capable of affecting the internal balance of the nucleolus. The results provide new basic information ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 11, 2026
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Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), together with an interdisciplinary team of partners, have identified the fire-footed rope squirrel ...
Ecology
Feb 11, 2026
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Pet owners want quick answers when their beloved cat or dog is sick. And if these furry friends are experiencing digestive distress, lethargy and fever, it's important to rapidly rule out serious illnesses like feline panleukopenia ...
Biotechnology
Feb 9, 2026
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University of Toronto researchers have expanded our understanding of bacterial immunity with the discovery of a new protein that can both sense and counteract viral infections. In the study, published in Nature, researchers ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 4, 2026
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Viruses attack nearly every living organism on Earth. To do so, they rely on highly specialized proteins that recognize and bind to receptors on the surface of target cells, a molecular arms race that drives constant evolution. ...
Evolution
Feb 2, 2026
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Bacteriophages have been used therapeutically to treat infectious bacterial diseases for over a century. As antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly threaten public health, interest in bacteriophages as therapeutics has ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 19, 2026
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A recent study shows that viruses in wild bees are closely linked to the flowers they visit and the availability of floral resources across the landscape. Researchers found that certain floral communities increase the likelihood ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 15, 2026
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An international team of scientists has analyzed the ongoing colonization by two retroviruses of the germline of koalas and resulting deaths from cancer in multi-generational pedigrees of over 100 koalas in US and European ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 12, 2026
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