Anti-bacterial but not antiviral? Anti-bacterial agents don’t always work against viruses

by Virology Research Services | Mar 5, 2021 | VRS Blog

 Viruses can spread via surfaces The current coronavirus pandemic has caused an increased demand for anti-microbial treatments that can keep surfaces clean, not only in health care settings but also in our homes and public spaces. The role that surfaces play in the...

Human coronaviruses: A brief history to understand the present

by Virology Research Services | Mar 30, 2020 | VRS Blog

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War) Did you know there are seven human coronaviruses? Humans Coronaviruses discovered in the 1960s Human coronaviruses (CoVs) were unknown to science...

How do you diagnose polyomavirus infection in immunocompromised patients?

by Virology Research Services | Feb 18, 2020 | ASK VRS

In our ASK VRS series, every month we will reply to a question asked through our website or social media. This month, Ali sent us the following question: Can I search for polyomavirus specific IgG and IgM antibodies in cancer patients’ serum or, because they are...

The making of dengue virus: the 3′ UTR

by Virology Research Services | Dec 19, 2019 | Virus of the Month

In the first blog of our dengue series, we described dengue’s 5′ untranslated region (UTR) – a relative short sequence (around 100 nucleotides) that includes two elements essential for genome replication: (i) the promoter for RNA synthesis, (known as stem-loop A), and...

How do you go about making a vaccine? – II Part

by Virology Research Services | Dec 19, 2019 | Virus Methods

Preclinical testing comes at a relatively early stage in vaccine discovery, as the development of an immune response following antigen administration can only be tested in an organism. If adequate models are available, protection from (or attenuation of) viral...