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.
Research led by a physicist at the University of California, Riverside, shows how viruses form protective shells (capsids) around their genomes, a process that—while messy and complex—consistently results in highly symmetrical ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 24, 2025
0
36
In a major advance for infectious disease treatment, researchers from Monash University and The Alfred have developed a bespoke phage therapy product that uses bacterial viruses, known as "bacteriophages," to combat a highly ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 24, 2025
0
26
Professor Bonghoon Kim of the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology has successfully developed a next-generation surface modification technology with ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 23, 2025
0
28
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and emerging viruses are a rapidly increasing threat to the global health care system. About 5 million deaths each year are linked to antibiotic-resistant germs, and more than 20 million people ...
Biotechnology
Sep 18, 2025
0
24
Microbes in water are like invisible travelers—and some carry disease with them. Keeping the water that flows through our treatment plants, rivers and taps healthy and safe from microbial infection is a challenge.
Ecology
Sep 17, 2025
0
30
To solve a problem, we have to see it clearly. Whether it's an infection by a novel virus or memory-stealing plaques forming in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, visualizing disease processes in the body is the first step ...
Biotechnology
Sep 16, 2025
0
95
Hollywood and commercial cinema often portray microbes as villains—causing deadly epidemics, fueling apocalyptic scenarios, or being weaponized for destruction. This stereotype reinforces a cultural bias known as germophobia. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 15, 2025
0
24
Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect bacteria. Using phages therapeutically could be very useful in fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, but the molecular interactions between phages and host bacteria ...
Biotechnology
Sep 10, 2025
0
53
Every minute, all around us, battles are fought on a microscopic level. Bacteriophages (also known as phages) are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Just like viruses that infect us, these phages seek to steal the resources ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 10, 2025
0
32
The icy world of Antarctica might not be enticing to us, but it's bustling with microscopic life. Scientists recently got a detailed glimpse at the genetics of a diverse range of microorganisms hidden beneath the West Antarctic ...
