Virus

A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only inside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of organisms: from animals and plants, to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 5,000 types of virus have been described in detail, although most types of virus remain undiscovered. Viruses are ubiquitous, as they are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth, and are the most abundant type of biological entity on the planet. The study of viruses is known as virology, and is a branch of microbiology.

What is a Virus?

A virus is a small infectious agent that can only replicate inside the cells of another organism.

What is the Difference Between Bacteria and Viruses?

Virus History

Virus Origins

Virus Microbiology

Virus Classification

Virus Infection in Other Species

Human Diseases Caused by Viruses

Virus Uses in Virology

Virus Purification Methods

What are Filoviruses?

Antiviral Immunity and COVID-19

See more featured articles »

What is Vertical Transmission?

What is a Viral Mutation?

What are Viral Clades?

Are Viruses a Lifeform?

What Are Giant Viruses?

Virus Eradication, Extinction, and Elimination Explained

Latest Virus News and Research

Impact of orally administered cannabidiol (CBD) on fitness and health among healthy adult individuals

Researchers evaluated the effects of oral CBD administration on the health and fitness of healthy adults.

9 Jun 2023

Mechanistic insights into how the SARS-CoV-2 virus affects the nervous system, alters its function, and causes neuropathology

Study demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral fusogens cause glial and neuronal fusion.

9 Jun 2023

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks body's metabolism to amplify COVID-19 severity

In a review article published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, scientists have discussed host metabolic alteration triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its effect on disease severity.

9 Jun 2023

New platform to study how pathogens carrying mosquitoes impact and infect human cells and tissues

A UCF research team has engineered tissue with human cells that mosquitoes love to bite and feed upon -; with the goal of helping fight deadly diseases transmitted by the biting insects.

9 Jun 2023

Gut health boost: Functional foods and herbs show promise in tackling SARS-CoV-2 variants

Functional foods and natural herbs have the potential to enhance immune function and maintain gut microbiota diversity. This review explores their role in mitigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on gut health and overall well-being.

8 Jun 2023

Biologists discover a previously unknown way that the immune system detects viruses

Inflammasomes make up an intricate system of molecular sensors that our bodies use to sound an alarm when an infection occurs.

8 Jun 2023

Study may help advance data on oncolytic adenovirus mediated double suicide-gene therapy for high-grade brain tumors

Researchers in the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Health are leading a Phase I clinical trial studying the maximum tolerated dose of an oncolytic adenovirus, a mutated virus engineered to selectively replicate in and destroy cancer tissue, in combination with fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery among patients who are undergoing resection of a recurrent high-grade astrocytoma brain tumor.

8 Jun 2023

Yellow fever: examining potential burden on vaccine strategy

Researchers presented a stochastic model of yellow fever transmission.

8 Jun 2023

Teaming up with the patient’s immune system to combat cancer

The fact that our immune systems capture and destroy nanoparticles and the drugs they carry has been a problem in the field of nanomedicine for some time. But, in the fight against cancer, researchers are now attempting to exploit this problem to their advantage.

8 Jun 2023

University Hospital Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases named as a WHO collaborating center for epidemic and pandemic diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO), the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), yesterday formalized the designation of the University Hospital Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases as a WHO collaborating center for epidemic and pandemic diseases.

8 Jun 2023

Single virus binds to a single receptor, study reveals

In Europe, the pandemic triggered in 2020 by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is now largely under control. But why this virus is able to spread so efficiently remains unclear. A team of researchers led by Dr. Simone Backes, Dr. Gerti Beliu and Prof. Dr. Markus Sauer of the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg (JMU) has now shown in a publication in "Angewandte Chemie" that some previous assumptions need to be reconsidered.

8 Jun 2023

SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause brain cells to fuse: Study

Researchers at The University of Queensland have discovered viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can cause brain cells to fuse, initiating malfunctions that lead to chronic neurological symptoms.

8 Jun 2023

Scientists uncover key molecular culprit in ALS: PEG10 gene implicated in pathogenesis

UBQLN2 dysfunction in ALS leads to elevated PEG10 levels, suggesting a role for retrotransposon activity in the disease. PEG10's nuclear localization alters gene expression involved in axon remodeling, implicating it as a contributing mechanism in ALS.

7 Jun 2023

Heart attack during the first COVID-19 lockdown reduced two years of patients’ lives

Patients who had heart attacks during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK and Spain are predicted to live 1.5 and 2 years less, respectively, than their pre-COVID counterparts.

7 Jun 2023

Ancient, virus-like protein may contribute to ALS

More than 5,000 people are diagnosed annually with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a fatal, neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, gradually robbing people of the ability to speak, move, eat and breathe.

7 Jun 2023

Mitigating the risks of future pandemics: Let bats have the habitats they need

A new paper in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health makes the case that pandemic prevention requires a global taboo whereby humanity agrees to leave bats alone-;to let them have the habitats they need, undisturbed.

7 Jun 2023

Review finds no indications of serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines given to young children

A review of more than 245,000 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines given to young children (most of them age 4 and younger) found no indications of serious side effects.

6 Jun 2023

What role did children play in household viral transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic, when enveloped virus rates were low, and relative proportions of COVID-19 were high?

Researchers performed a cohort study on a voluntary group in the United States.

6 Jun 2023

New data from the nationwide INSPIRE study shows Long COVID is not a singular condition

The latest data from the nationwide INSPIRE study assessing the long-term symptoms and outcomes of the COVID-19 virus in nearly 6000 participants identifies four clinically distinct symptom presentations (phenotypes), adding to the growing body evidence that Long COVID is not singular condition but rather a range of conditions that may evolve, and typically improve, over time.

5 Jun 2023

Understanding the possible mechanisms of myocardial injury in patients with COVID-19

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal.

5 Jun 2023

1
2
3
4
...
1450
Next

Virus

Overview

Feature Articles

Virus Microbiology

Virus Classification

Virus Infection in Other Species

Human Diseases Caused by Viruses

Virus Uses in Virology

Virus Purification Methods

What are Filoviruses?

Antiviral Immunity and COVID-19

What is Vertical Transmission?

What is a Viral Mutation?

What are Viral Clades?

Are Viruses a Lifeform?

What Are Giant Viruses?

Virus Eradication, Extinction, and Elimination Explained

Latest Virus News and Research

Exploring the intersection of biology and proteomics

Unlocking the Secrets of Multiple Sclerosis Progression: Brain-Immune Cell Communication

Passing on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Health risks for male offspring of women with PCOS

Newsletters you may be interested in