Virology
Are we scratching the surface of what an old vaccination method can do?
Smallpox vaccine was administered by scratching the skin. Mice suggest this old-school method may work better against other respiratory viruses as well.
MIT's AI predicts new strains of HIV, coronavirus
As coronavirus mutations pop up around the world, researchers at MIT are using language-recognizing AI to try and predict what could be next.
New discovery could stop dengue’s “breakbone” fever
Making a dengue vaccine is difficult. It’s early, but a new antibody that targets a protein the virus makes instead of the virus itself may be a solution.
Moderna is developing an mRNA vaccine for HIV
Moderna is using the same technology behind its COVID-19 vaccine to develop an mRNA vaccine for HIV.
Phage therapy kills superbug behind many ICU infections
Combining a bacteria-killing virus and an antibiotic was able to wipe out an infection of the superbug A. baumannii in mice.
A universal flu vaccine has aced phase 1 trials
Influenza’s constant genetic shifting means flu vaccines aim at a moving target. But a universal flu vaccine just passed its phase 1 trials.
HIV can hide inside human cells for years. Can CRISPR cut it out?
Using CRISPR to stop the replication of SIV, a primate virus closely related to HIV, researchers may have taken a step to wiping the virus out in the body.
Congo just used vaccines to beat Ebola. What they learned could stop COVID, too.
Congo’s recent success delivering frigid Ebola vaccines to remote areas may provide invaluable experience for a COVID-19 vaccine cold chain.
We can now see a virus invasion in real-time
Understanding how a virus infects and replicates in a cell is crucial to stopping them. Now, researchers can see an infection in real-time.
A flu vaccine grown in tobacco plants just aced its clinical trials
Plant-based vaccines can be made cheaply and at scale. A tobacco plant-based vaccine for influenza has now been the first to complete clinical trials.