Bird flu virus has been spreading in US cows for months, RNA reveals

A cow is milked in Washington State.Credit: USDA Photo/Alamy A strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been silently spreading in US cattle for months, according to preliminary analysis of genomic data. The outbreak is likely to have begun when the virus jumped from an infected bird into a cow, probably around late December or … Read more

Anthony Epstein (1921–2024), discoverer of virus causing cancer in humans

Credit: Stuart Bebb/Wolfson College Archives Anthony (Tony) Epstein, co-discoverer of the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), was the founding father of research into the part that viruses play in the development of human cancers. Today, seven types of viral infection — more than one of which can be prevented by vaccination — are known to cause specific … Read more

How does a virus hijack insect sperm to control disease vectors and pests?

A widespread bacteria called Wolbachia and a virus that it carries can cause sterility in male insects by hijacking their sperm, preventing them from fertilizing eggs of females that do not have the same combination of bacteria and virus. A new study led by microbiome researchers at Penn State has uncovered how this microbial combination … Read more