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.
The wave-shaped chart Ratul Chowdhury pulls up on a computer monitor in his office captures the evolutionary cat-and-mouse game his research lab is up against. The undulating curves track variants of the porcine reproductive ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 13, 2026
0
8
Viruses are masters at invading cells thanks to specialized proteins that coat their surfaces. When scientists design vaccines, they often create versions of these viral surface proteins to study how the immune system might ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 13, 2026
0
11
What if the Trojan horse had been pulled to pieces, revealing the ruse and fending off the invasion, just as it entered the gates of Troy? That's an apt description of a newly characterized bacterial defense system that chops ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 10, 2026
0
113
Cases of Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) are extremely rare in humans, but in those who develop disease, the outcome is severe, almost always resulting in fatal encephalitis or inflammation in the brain. This zoonotic virus ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 10, 2026
0
15
A team of scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), led by Nikos Vasilakis, Ph.D., and Peter McCaffrey, MD, has developed a new computational pipeline that could dramatically accelerate the development ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 9, 2026
0
11
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 is a terrible way for any animal to die, especially creatures as gentle as these. Highly contagious and lethal, it threatens wild and domestic rabbits. First detected in the United ...
Veterinary medicine
Apr 9, 2026
0
13
Researchers at Umeå University show how tick-borne viruses remodel human cells into virus factories, using an advanced microscopy method. The findings provide new insight into how the virus replicates and matures, knowledge ...
Biotechnology
Apr 7, 2026
0
23
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
67
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
20
