Cow udders may provide a hotspot for bird flu and human flu viruses to mingle. The prospect of an outbreak of avian influenza among dairy cattle triggering a pandemic in humans is one step closer than ...

Modern laboratory techniques for the detection of novel human viruses are greatly needed as physicians and epidemiologists increasingly deal with infectious diseases caused by new or previously ...

Distinguishing between self and non-self is a critical ability of the immune system. Some pathogens have evolved proteins that resemble those of their host, a mechanism called molecular mimicry, in an ...

Canine coronavirus and influenza D are two zoonotic viruses that researchers say have “considerable potential” for causing future epidemics in people. In an article published recently in Emerging ...

In 1990, I finished my PhD on primate evolution and went to my postdoc in Davis, California, USA. It was meant to be on fruit fly ...

Researchers uncover how a key human immune protein curbs H5N1 avian flu, but the virus is evolving—could we be on the brink of a new zoonotic threat? Research Letter: Replication Restriction of ...

Around 8 percent of human DNA is made up of genetic sequences acquired from ancient viruses. These sequences, known as human endogenous retroviruses (or Hervs), date back hundreds of thousands to ...

What sets these viruses apart is their unusual ability to insert their genetic material into human chromosomes. This allows the virus to stay inactive for long periods and, in rare cases, be passed ...

The avian flu virus isolated from a hospitalized teenager in Vancouver has mutations in key areas that could help the virus spread more easily in humans, scientists say. There is no indication that ...

You, my friend, are what scientists call a "holobiont"- an organism made up of human cells and the multiplicity of microscopic species living inside you and on your body. Many of these microorganisms ...