As if the pandemic weren't enough, people are wondering whether climate change will cause pathogens buried in frozen ground to come back to life as the Arctic warms. How worried should we be?
New research finds that stomach infections, like norovirus and rotavirus, have a special way to get to us hard — and fast. That knowledge could lead to new, more effective treatments.
Duke University researchers say some patients with brain cancer survived long after receiving treatment with a weakened poliovirus. But the response rate was limited and there were side effects.
An 21st century outbreak could be as nightmarish as the 1918 pandemic, which killed about 40 million. So the Gates Foundation wants to spur the development of a flu vaccine. Don't we already have one?
For the first time, scientists measured the quantity of viruses that are swept into the Earth's atmosphere and then fall back down. The study explains why similar viruses are spread across the globe.
There's a new fear from climate change: Bacteria and viruses buried in frozen ground coming back to life as the Arctic warms up. We went digging in permafrost to find out how worried we should be.
They're the Godzillas of the virus world, pushing the limit of what is considered alive. Researchers are trying to figure out where they came from. (And no, they aren't known to make people sick.)
We're running a series on the rise of killer viruses. If there's something you'd like to know, ask us. We'll answer reader queries in an upcoming story.
Carp are a major food source, but they've been plagued by viruses. Scientists now say they have a simple solution. And along the way, they hit on an ancient commonality between fish and people.
Over the past 60 years, the number of new diseases cropping up in a decade has almost quadrupled. "We're in a hyperinfectious world," says one scientist.
Think of it as a gift within a gift. Some beneficial gut bacteria contain viruses called "bacteriophages." And some of these phages now have been associated with good intestinal health in humans.
A virus is generally like a little ball with a few genes. Now scientists have found one that's broken up into five little balls — as if it were dismembered.