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.
Stopping viruses before they strike is a key challenge in public health. A research team led by Associate Professor Li Dan from the Department of Food Science and Technology at National University of Singapore's Faculty of ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 10, 2026
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Orthohantaviruses, such as the Puumala virus, are widespread in Europe, causing flu-like illnesses and severe kidney damage in those infected. It is increasingly considered a zoonotic threat. Researchers from the Medical ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 9, 2026
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34
Many proteins have a complex architecture that enables biological functions. Molecules can bind to specific sites on a protein and alter its function. A team at HZB has now investigated the Nsp1 protein, which plays a role ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 6, 2026
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25
A research team composed of plant virologists from the Plant Virus Department at Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, the Italian National Research Council and BASF-Nunhems Italy, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 4, 2026
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80
People and animals create lots of waste that is usually sent to landfills, incinerated, or stored in engineered ponds such as manure lagoons. Now, researchers report a potential removal method using insects, specifically ...
Biotechnology
Mar 4, 2026
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28
Viruses such as human norovirus can travel in vesicles, small fluid-filled sacs that are like shipping containers for cells. Viruses hidden in these containers are often harder to detect and may be more infectious than free-floating ...
Environment
Mar 2, 2026
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15
More than four out of every five dead black vultures examined by University of Georgia researchers tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. The actual ...
Ecology
Mar 2, 2026
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A study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using cryo-electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, they found that LGP2 ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 27, 2026
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24
Biochemists at Caltech have identified how viruses have converged on a method for killing bacteria. The researchers have homed in on an underexplored small transporter called MurJ that is a vital part of the pathway bacteria ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 25, 2026
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18
Drugs made of mRNA have the potential to transform medicine—if only they could get into cells in one piece. Now, University of Connecticut researchers have shown that packaging mRNA like a virus could smuggle it into cells ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2026
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