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.
With antibiotic-resistant infections on the rise and a continually morphing pandemic virus, it's easy to see why researchers want to be able to design engineered nanoparticles that can shut down these infections.
Bio & Medicine
May 16, 2022
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Scientists at Swansea University, Biovici Ltd and the National Physical Laboratory have developed a method to detect viruses in very small volumes.
Bio & Medicine
May 12, 2022
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Rapid antigen tests can quickly and conveniently tell a person that they are positive for COVID-19. However, because antibody-based tests aren't very sensitive, they can fail to detect early infections with low viral loads. ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 13, 2022
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They might look like cells and act like cells. But a new potential COVID-19 treatment is actually a cleverly disguised trickster, which attracts viruses and binds them, rendering them inactive.
Bio & Medicine
Apr 11, 2022
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Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a novel strategy for identifying potent miniature antibodies, so-called nanobodies, against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. The approach led to the discovery of ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 25, 2022
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With each new SARS-CoV-2 variant that has emerged, global panic ensues to determine its level of threat. But a group of quantum biologists, engineers, and virus physicists think we already have the tools to more easily detect—and ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 9, 2022
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New research by the inventors of a promising pathogen-repellent wrap has confirmed that it sheds not only bacteria, as previously proven, but also viruses, boosting its potential usefulness for interrupting the transmission ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 28, 2022
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In recent years, deadly infectious diseases, including Ebola and COVID-19, have emerged to cause widespread human devastation. Although researchers have developed a range of sophisticated methods to detect such infections, ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 2, 2022
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According to experts, bringing an end to the pandemic will require rapid screening of people attending large gatherings, such as conferences and weddings. Even those who are asymptomatic can still transmit COVID-19 to others, ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 2, 2022
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Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the University of Basel have developed a rapid test for COVID-19. Its novel functional principle promises reliable and quantifiable results concerning a patient's COVID-19 ...
Bio & Medicine
Jan 25, 2022
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