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 new antiviral defense system discovered by Columbia scientists could be adapted in the future into a gene editor that slows down aging in our cells and improves cancer therapies. At the same time, the discovery also sheds ...
Evolution
Oct 12, 2026
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57
Rabies virus detection in cell cultures could soon become faster and more accessible, thanks to the world's first AI system for this purpose, developed by researchers at the University of Surrey's Institute for People-Centered ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 12, 2026
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As they fly about their usual business of pollinating flowers, bumblebees could help protect fruit trees from disease by carrying a natural treatment directly to where it is needed.
Plants & Animals
Oct 5, 2026
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203
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world's top public health threats. Often termed a silent pandemic, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have caused millions of deaths annually. If left unchecked, the number of deaths attributed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 3, 2026
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76
New technology from Texas A&M AgriLife Research could be a major step toward bringing disease-resistant peppers and tomatoes to growers' fields and lowering costs at grocery stores.
Biotechnology
Oct 2, 2026
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27
In the fight to find better treatments for bacterial infections, one rapidly evolving therapy uses a group of viruses called bacteriophages (phages). Phages can attack and kill dangerous bacteria while leaving human cells ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 1, 2026
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77
How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. ...
Evolution
Oct 1, 2026
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42
Viruses come in two major flavors—not chocolate and vanilla, quips Harvard Medical School structural biologist Stephen Harrison, but those enveloped in membranes, such as herpesvirus, influenza virus, HIV and SARS-CoV-2, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 30, 2026
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25
A silent, long-running competition has been taking place in Swiss alpine lakes for millions of years, killing trillions of organisms every day without anyone noticing. This competition between bacteria and viruses pushes ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 30, 2026
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17
Viruses such as influenza A and dengue can hijack a cellular system that helps manage protein aggregates. Previous work by FMI emeritus group leader Patrick Matthias and his team showed that a small protein called ubiquitin ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 28, 2026
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