Viruses are acellular infectious agents that depend entirely on host cellular machinery for replication and are therefore studied as a central topic in microbiology, virology, and infectious disease research. They consist minimally of a nucleic acid genome (DNA or RNA, single- or double-stranded, linear or circular) enclosed in a protein capsid, and in many cases a host-derived lipid envelope containing viral glycoproteins. Viral classification and research focus on genome organization, replication strategies, host range, tropism, mechanisms of cell entry and egress, immune evasion, and evolutionary dynamics, as well as their roles in pathogenesis, horizontal gene transfer, and biotechnology applications such as vectors and phage therapy.
A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative "one-pot" testing platform, known as TEMPO, that could transform highly sensitive nucleic acid testing from a laboratory-based ...
Biotechnology
14 hours ago
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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 ...
Evolution
Aug 26, 2026
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21
A citrus greening disease treatment rooted in more than a decade of research at Texas A&M AgriLife Research has reached a milestone on the path to commercial availability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 21, 2026
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As antimicrobial resistance grows around the world, novel therapies to counter it become increasingly important. Phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are an exciting avenue of research in this regard, providing a means to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 19, 2026
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31
Red blood cells serve as the foundation for nanocarriers that show promise in a new study as effective and efficient vehicles for gene therapy, tumor targeting and other medical treatments. Scientists at The Ohio State University ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 17, 2026
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23
Tiny viruses that infect bacteria could one day help us tackle infections that antibiotics can no longer treat. But first, scientists need to understand how these viruses work, and artificial intelligence could provide them ...
Biotechnology
Aug 15, 2026
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29
A research team led by Director Kim V. Narry at the Center for RNA Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered compact viral RNA elements that can make mRNA more stable and increase protein production. ...
Biotechnology
Aug 14, 2026
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44
Scientists have crossed an important line in biological engineering. In a recent study, researchers used artificial intelligence to design complete sets of genetic instructions for bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. ...
Biotechnology
Aug 12, 2026
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In a world first, scientists led by a team from Stanford University have created 16 viable viruses that do not exist in nature and were designed by AI. Their experiment, which is published in Science, could help in the fight ...
A study by researchers in the UAB Department of Mathematics and the Center for Mathematical Research (CRM) presents a model describing the behavior of encapsulated bacteriophages within the gastrointestinal tract. Its objective ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 31, 2026
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