When a virus infects a bacterial cell, the viral genome is the first component to be fully injected into the cell, making it an ideal immune target. A bacterial enzyme anchored to the membrane ...

Illinois researchers developed a nanorobotic hand made of DNA that can grab viruses for detection or inhibition. In this artist’s rendering, three “NanoGripper” hands wrap around a COVID-19 virus.

New research reveals that triggering a cell’s DNA damage response could be a promising avenue for developing novel treatments against several rare but devastating viruses for which no antiviral ...

In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. The finding challenges the dogma ...

The 2024 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is awarded to Zhijian (James) Chen for his landmark discoveries that explain how DNA stimulates immune responses. DNA is best known as genetic ...

Human DNA is not always making us function in ways we understand. Some of our genome is just there, and we’re not sure what it does. In fact, 8% of our DNA are viruses our ancestors caught one day and ...

CRISPR-Cas9 is a customizable tool that lets scientists cut and insert small pieces of DNA at precise areas along a DNA strand. This lets scientists study genes in a specific, targeted way. (NHGRI via ...

Circular single-stranded DNA viruses represent a diverse group of pathogens that possess a covalently closed, circular single-stranded DNA genome. Their small genomes belie a sophisticated replication ...

Viruses rely on hosts to survive. But some viruses are more effective at reproducing than others. Now, new research has shown that the herpes virus, more specifically herpes simplex virus type 1 ...

A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to ...