An international team of scientists have charted the emergence and spread of the Zika virus in the Americas with the help of virus genomes. While the Zika outbreak attracted a lot of attention both inside and outside the scientific community, little is known about the evolution of the virus. Clinical samples of the virus contain […]
Tag: virus
Mummy DNA shows origins of smallpox more recent than initially thought 
Prevalent theories place the origin of the deadly smallpox virus in ancient Egypt, India and China. But a recent analysis of smallpox DNA from a 17th-century mummy tells a different story. Researchers compared the strain with its modern variants, dating up to 1970s, and discovered evidence that the evolution of the modern form of virus […]
Small compound could help fight coronaviruses
Researchers have found that a small chemical compound called K22 can interfere with the ability of coronaviruses to use the internal membranes of host cells for their own replication. Although it’s still a very long way from being a drug, the fact that the molecule shows activity against a wide range of coronaviruses – including […]
Second U.S. case of MERS | Experts Available
Second U.S. case of MERS | SMCC Experts Available | May 14, 2014 On Monday May 12, 2014 the U.S. Centres of Disease control reported the “unwelcome but not unexpected” news that a second person in the US has been diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. This second case, which occurred in Florida, follows […]
