virus

Breakthrough research published in Nucleic Acids Research suggests SARS-CoV-2-related RNA may serve as potential drug targets for COVID-19.

Researchers at MIT and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard are working on developing a universal flu vaccine.

by Francesca Tomasifigures by Jovana Andrejevic  Right now, the world is eagerly awaiting clinical trial data for two candidate COVID-19 vaccines known as mRNA vaccines. mRNA stands for “messenger RNA,” referring to the molecule that the vaccine…

Why is it that some people get really sick from COVID-19, and others don’t? The answer may lie in a weakened innate immune response.

Pregnancy test but for viruses? Mini droplet-based diagnostics tests combined with CRISPR may offer a way forward for fast, mass-testing of not just SARS-CoV-2, but hundreds of other viruses as the same time.

Current polio vaccines have been successful in nearly eradicating polio in the world. Unfortunately, there have been emerging cases of polio in recent years. To combat this, scientists have designed a new oral poliovirus vaccine that could result in a…

  Spanish translation available here.

by Ziqi Chen figures by Rebecca Senft We live in a universe of viruses. It is estimated that there are billions of types of viruses on earth, and ~320,000 types that infect mammals alone. Many viral species exist in our surrounding environment. As we…

Influenza A is the virus responsible for the Spanish Flu pandemic, which wiped out 3-5% of the human population in the early 20th century. The annual influenza outbreak occurs in the autumn and winter, although it is not normally deadly for healthy…

Carrying diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus and yellow fever, a few species of mosquitoes are responsible for more than one million deaths each year. Certain species of mosquitoes actually prefer feeding on humans, and even show preferences…