Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Researchers identify key step bird flu virus takes to spread readily in humans

Since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 avian flu virus has been slowly evolving into a pathogen better equipped to infect humans. The final form of the virus, biomedical researchers fear, will be a highly pathogenic strain of influenza that spreads easily among humans.

Read more »

Keywords: researchers, identify, key, step, bird, flu, virus, spread, readily, humans, researcher, viru, human

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Researchers identify key step bird flu virus takes to spread readily in humans":

1. Scientists find mutations that let bird flu adapt to humans
   11-15-2006 · EurekAlert!
   By comparing influenza viruses found in birds with those of the avian virus that have also infected human hosts, researchers have identified key genetic changes required for pandemic strains of bird flu.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
2. BCM, Rice scientists map flu's chemical key
   10-15-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University have developed the first 3D, molecular map of the protein that allows influenza B to infect healthy cells with viral DNA. The research appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. By studying influenza B, which affects only humans, researchers hope to shed light on the genetic mutations that would allow bird flu to spread among humans.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
3. Study of sugars on cell surface identifies key factor in flu infection
   01-06-2008 · EurekAlert!
   Scientists have identified a new factor critical for influenza viruses to infect the human upper respiratory tract -- a necessary step for sustaining spread between people. The research offers additional insight into how the H5N1 avian flu virus currently circulating in birds would have to change in order to gain a foothold in human populations.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
4. U of S Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization team discovers key step in flu virus replication
   11-15-2006 · EurekAlert!
   As public health officials around the world keep a nervous eye on the spread of avian influenza, the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization has uncovered a key step in how the influenza virus causes infection.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
5. A first glimpse of the influenza replication machine
   02-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Specific mutations in a viral protein, the polymerase, contribute to the ability of the bird influenza virus to jump the species barrier to humans. Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble and Heidelberg, the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) and the Unit of Virus Host Cell Interactions (UVHCI)*, both in Grenoble, have now produced the first 3-D image of part of this key protein.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
6. New -- Universal flu vaccine being tested on humans
   07-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis. This vaccine is intended to provide protection against all "A" strains of the virus that causes human influenza, including pandemic strains.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
7. Danish researches solve virus puzzle
   03-30-2007 · EurekAlert!
   How is virus as for example HIV and bird flu able to make the cells within a human body work for the purpose of the virus? Researchers at the University of Copenhagen shed new light on this question.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
8. Universal flu vaccine being tested on humans
   07-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis. This vaccine is intended to provide protection against all "A" strains of the virus that causes human influenza, including pandemic strains.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
9. Lessons from Turkey's bird flu outbreak
   11-14-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Rapid responses by Turkey's health authorities and key health personnel were critical in bringing the 2006 bird flu outbreak under control, according to research published in the online open access journal, BMC Public Health. Those involved cite poverty and families sharing their homes with poultry as factors behind the virus' transfer to humans.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
10. Control measures fail to stop spread of new H5N1 virus
    10-30-2006 · EurekAlert!
    A new variant of the bird flu virus H5N1 emerged in late 2005 and replaced most of the previous variants across a large part of southern China, despite an ongoing program to vaccinate poultry, according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
    Similar news · Read more »