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.
Disease management is a significant aspect of aquaculture, a vital industry and major food source. One of the most serious threats is a disease caused by the nervous necrosis virus (NNV), which can wipe out large populations ...
Molecular & Computational biology
23 hours ago
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A new study has uncovered a previously unknown antiviral defense mechanism in sea anemones, revealing that animals may have evolved more than one way to fight viral infections. Researchers discovered that a protein resembling ...
Evolution
Jun 26, 2026
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166
When viruses travel through the air in tiny droplets, they can quickly start to dry out. Yet many viruses remain infectious after rehydration—something that is still not fully understood. Now, an international team of researchers ...
Biotechnology
Jun 24, 2026
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Medical advancements over the last several decades have made great strides in the treatment of HIV. Pharmaceutical treatments are able to contain and reduce a patient's viral load to the point where it is nearly undetectable. ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 24, 2026
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The dried larvae of the yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) are comparable to beef or poultry in nutritional value, but the mealworm has a far smaller ecological footprint. It was recently approved for human consumption ...
Veterinary medicine
Jun 23, 2026
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8
Viruses play a major role in the functioning of ecosystems. They profoundly influence the dynamics of microbial communities, the flow of matter and global biogeochemical cycles. Yet despite their abundance and ecological ...
Ecology
Jun 21, 2026
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An international research team led by a Korean scientist has succeeded in designing large-scale protein structures that faithfully replicate the self-assembly principles found in naturally occurring viruses, using artificial ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 20, 2026
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35
It was something infectious disease expert Heather Ferguson never expected to see in her lifetime: a mosquito-borne virus originally from Africa spreading in Scotland.
Ecology
Jun 16, 2026
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101
While scientists have studied how bacteria move toward food using a chemical radar known as chemotaxis, they have only watched single species swim in isolated environments over distances of only a few centimeters.
Ecology
Jun 10, 2026
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11
All cells in animals, plants, fungi, and protists share a fundamental characteristic: they are eukaryotic cells—complex cells with specialized internal compartments. The cells that make up our bodies are no exception.
Evolution
Jun 10, 2026
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