virus particles

Researchers discover how leukaemia virus spreads through the body

Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), the virus which causes adult T-cell leukaemia, spreads through the body. Previously it was not understood how HTLV-1 was able to spread between cells and pass between individuals, but according to research published today in Science, the virus spreads by subverting normal T-cell (a type of immune cell) behaviour, and without needing to release virus particles.

Scientists solve puzzle of how influenza builds its infectious seeds

By solving a long-standing puzzle about how the influenza virus assembles its genetic contents into infectious particles that enable the virus to spread from cell to cell, scientists have opened a new gateway to a better understanding of one of the world’s most virulent diseases. This insight into the genetic workings that underpin infection by flu, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides not only a better basic understanding of how flu and other viruses work, but holds significant promise for new and improved vaccines and drugs to combat the disease by exposing the genetic trick it uses to form virus particles.