Inflammation can reawaken dormant viruses in the brain, which may help to explain why concussions often precede dementia, a new study finds. Brain injuries like concussions raise the risk of dementiaand the more blows someone takes to the head, the higher that risk becomes, evidence suggests. Scientists are investigating what happens in the brain after […]
RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2 constantly accrue new mutations.Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library The holy grail of pandemic preparedness is being able to predict how a virus will evolve just by looking at its genetic sequence. Those days are still a way off, but a growing number of research groups are using artificial intelligence (AI) to […]
Like many other respiratory viruses, Williams says that hMPV tends to impact those with chronic lung diseases or existing conditions such as asthma and cancer. But despite this, he has found that many doctors are unaware that it’s a threat, largely because until relatively recently, no one was testing for it outside of academic studies. […]
Viruses such as measles (pictured here) can be used to attack cancerous cells. Credit: Eye Of Science/Science Photo Library A scientist who successfully treated her own breast cancer by injecting the tumour with lab-grown viruses has sparked discussion about the ethics of self-experimentation. Beata Halassy discovered in 2020, aged 49, that she had breast cancer […]
It is common knowledge that the human gut is home to hordes of bacteria, most of which seem essential for good health. But there is another component of the gut microbiome that receives less attention: viruses. Wherever there are bacteria, viruses called bacteriophages lurk in prodigious quantities. These bacteria-killing microorganisms, first noted in the early […]
Bird flu appears to be rising in the U.S., but only among people exposed to infected animals — namely, cows and poultry. Since April 2024, the U.S. has seen 36 human cases of H5N1 bird flu across 17 states. That includes 16 cases in Californiaseven of which were diagnosed in the week ending Oct. 20. […]
A scratchy, sore throat, a relentless fever, a pounding head and a nasty cough — these symptoms all scream upper respiratory illness. But which one? Many of the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections such as influenza A or B and the virus that causes COVID-19 all employ similar tactics. They target the same areas […]
Viruses known known as bacteriophages, or “bacteria eaters” in Greek, occupy the gut. NANOCLUSTERING / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images You’ve probably heard of the microbiome—the hordes of bacteria and other tiny life forms that live in our guts. Well, it turns out those bacteria have viruses that exist in and around them—with important […]
Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover 70,500 viruses previously unknown to science1many of them weird and nothing like known species. The RNA viruses were identified using metagenomics, in which scientists sample all the genomes present in the environment without having to culture individual viruses. The method shows the potential of AI to explore […]
Roundworms, also known as nematodes, are a leading cause of parasitic infection worldwide, causing painful swelling, severe abdominal pain and even blindness. Now, scientists say that viruses carried by these worms may be one reason they cause such severe illness. In a recent study, published in September in the journal Nature Microbiologythe researchers looked at […]
