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.
Wild bumblebees serve as key hosts for acute bee paralysis virus. While the virus appears to cause little harm to bumblebees, infection is usually fatal to honeybees. Until now, it was assumed that honeybees were the key ...
Ecology
Mar 24, 2026
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With AI, it's now possible for researchers to predict the three-dimensional structures of proteins directly from their amino-acid sequences. But what biologists really want to predict, says Columbia biophysicist Hashim Al-Hashimi, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 21, 2026
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20
The genomes of phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are largely composed of "dark matter": genes that encode proteins whose functions remain unknown. Less than four years ago, a team led by Prof. Rotem Sorek at the Weizmann ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2026
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13
Timing is critical in diagnosing diseases such as cancer. Researchers within The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used a historically underappreciated tiny powerhouse to detect ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 16, 2026
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59
Two locations have been identified as the most likely entry points into Australia for a disease that poses a huge risk to the beef and dairy industries. A University of Queensland-led team has built the first geospatial model ...
Veterinary medicine
Mar 13, 2026
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21
Genome editing-based therapies typically aim to treat disease by correcting underlying genetic mutations in patient's cells. However, most genetic disorders are caused by dozens or even thousands of unique mutations spread ...
Biotechnology
Mar 11, 2026
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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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19
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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24
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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