Virus
A virus is defined as any of a various number of submicroscopic parasites that can infect any animal, plant or bacteria and often lead to very serious or even deadly diseases. A virus consists of a core of RNA or DNA, generally surrounded by a protein, lipid or glycoprotein coat, or some combination of the three. No virus can replicate without the help of a host cell, and though they can be spread, viruses lack the ability of self-reproduction and are not always considered to be living organisms in the regular sense.Some of the most common or best known viruses include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the virus that causes AIDS, the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores, smallpox, multiple sclerosis, and the human papilloma virus, now believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer in adult women. The common human cold is also caused by a virus.Since a great deal of mystery still surrounds the origins of most modern viruses, ways to cure these viruses and the diseases they cause are still in the very early stages of development.
Explore Viruses, Infections & Disease
Latest about Viruses, Infections & Disease
Healthy tissue may predict lung cancer return better than tumors
By Emily Cooke published
A new study suggests that the gene activity in healthy tissue surrounding tumors could better predict whether a patient's lung cancer might return after surgery.
In world 1st, virus spotted attached to 2nd virus
By Emily Cooke published
The interaction was captured using a specialized piece of kit called a transmission electron microscope.
Millions more people need lung cancer screening, ACS says
By Nicoletta Lanese published
New guidelines from the American Cancer Society suggest millions more people should get yearly lung cancer screenings than were previously recommended to.
Mammal cells use some viruses like vitamins, study hints
By Emily Cooke published
When added to mammalian cells, instead of activating inflammatory pathways as expected, one particular bacteriophage stimulated the cells to grow and survive.
What does it look like when your sinuses are clogged?
By Anna Gora published
Having a stuffy nose often comes with pain and tenderness around your cheeks, eyes or forehead. But what do blocked sinuses look like inside your head?
Why is it hard to hear when you have a cold?
By Anna Gora published
Coming down with a cold or the flu can muffle your hearing, but why?
Tropical parasite gains a foothold in the US, especially in Texas
By Emily Cooke published
Scientists identified a new strain of a parasite that causes the disease leishmaniasis, and they mainly found it in people who had not recently traveled outside the U.S.
Man gets rare 'shiitake dermatitis' from undercooked mushrooms
By Emily Cooke published
The man developed the painful rash two days after eating undercooked shiitake mushrooms.
Skeletons from 1918 flu dispel myth that young, healthy adults were more vulnerable to the virus
By Emily Cooke published
Frail people and those with preexisting conditions were most likely to die from the 1918 flu — not young, healthy adults as once believed, a study of the victims' skeletons suggests.
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