The virus of the month: Influenza

by Virology Research Services | Apr 30, 2019 | Virus of the Month

Influenza kills hundreds of thousands annually and has the potential to cause pandemics, making it a major public health concern. The influenza viruses that infect humans are classified as either A, B or C types based on host tropism and the severity of the disease....

The viral system of the month: Virus-like Particles

by Virology Research Services | Mar 29, 2019 | Virus of the Month

Virus-like particles: life as a shell Virus-like particles (VLPs) are non-infectious nanostructures made of viral structural proteins, and thereby mimicking the outer conformation of the virus of interest. VLPs might resemble a working virus, but don’t be fooled:...

Timeless TCID50: One solution to many viruses

by Virology Research Services | Mar 29, 2019 | VRS Blog

This month we cover an old classic, the Tissue Culture Infectious Dose 50 assay, or TCID50. The TCID50 assay is used to quantify viral titres by determining the concentration at which 50% of the infected cells display cytopathic effect (CPE). As long as the virus of...

A small-molecule that mimicks anti-flu antibodies

by Virology Research Services | Mar 29, 2019 | VRS Blog

A small-molecule that mimicks anti-flu antibodies Flu is a serious health problem: what are we doing about it? Flu makes millions of people ill and kills hundreds of thousands every year. At the moment, seasonal flu vaccines are the best available defence against...

High-throughput/high-content virology and screening

by Virology Research Services | Feb 27, 2019 | Events

High-throughput/high-content virology and screening In the past decade, high-throughput screening has become a critical tool in antiviral discovery. More recently, advances in high-throughput and high-content imaging have further advanced unbiased phenotypic...