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.
The COVID pandemic illustrated how urgently we need antiviral medications capable of treating coronavirus infections. To aid this effort, researchers quickly homed in on part of SARS-CoV-2's molecular structure known as the ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 3, 2025
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A study published in mBio details the vulnerability of coronaviruses to inhibitors of a small protein domain called Mac1, or the "macrodomain," found in all coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 1, 2025
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37
In the shadows of Python Cave, Uganda, a leopard leaps from a guano mound—formed by bat excrement—and sinks its teeth into a bat. But this is no ordinary bat colony. The thousands of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) ...
Ecology
Jun 30, 2025
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Researchers have discovered two new viruses in bats that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses—pathogens that can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in humans.
Plants & Animals
Jun 24, 2025
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83
A global study uncovers the hidden role of viruses in driving bacterial evolution and highlights a surprising bacterial gene that helps fight back.
Evolution
Jun 20, 2025
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Since the mid-1800s, human activities have rapidly facilitated the spread of rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), a pathogen that infects rice, far and wide across Africa, according to a new study led by Eugénie Hébrard, at the ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 17, 2025
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80
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota found transmission of viruses between different bee species did not lead to the formation of new virus variants.
Ecology
Jun 17, 2025
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Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have identified 4,208 previously unannotated open reading frames (ORFs) across 679 human-associated viral genomes using a high-throughput method called massively parallel ...
Bacteria, viruses and fungi are masters at evolving new strategies to infiltrate plants and cause disease that harm crops. To get ahead of these pathogens, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers like Dr. Valentyna ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 12, 2025
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64
Diseases in the ocean, caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites, can have far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems. For this reason research has primarily focused on their ecological significance. However, the socioeconomic ...
Ecology
Jun 11, 2025
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