Virus
A virus is defined as any of a various number of submicroscopic parasites that can infect any animal, plant or bacteria and often lead to very serious or even deadly diseases. A virus consists of a core of RNA or DNA, generally surrounded by a protein, lipid or glycoprotein coat, or some combination of the three. No virus can replicate without the help of a host cell, and though they can be spread, viruses lack the ability of self-reproduction and are not always considered to be living organisms in the regular sense.Some of the most common or best known viruses include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the virus that causes AIDS, the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores, smallpox, multiple sclerosis, and the human papilloma virus, now believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer in adult women. The common human cold is also caused by a virus.Since a great deal of mystery still surrounds the origins of most modern viruses, ways to cure these viruses and the diseases they cause are still in the very early stages of development.
Explore Viruses, Infections & Disease
Latest about Viruses, Infections & Disease
A single gene mutation could enable H5N1 to spread between people, study finds
By Nicoletta Lanese published
A new laboratory study pinpoints a way H5N1 could evolve to spread from person to person.
What's the difference between a cold and the flu?
By Emily Cooke published
Common colds and the flu differ in many ways, including their causes, some of their symptoms and their treatments.
Acromegaly: A disease that causes adults to grow uncontrollably
By Emily Cooke published
Patients with acromegaly make too much growth hormone, which causes them to grow disproportionately large bones, organs and tissues.
WHO is investigating mystery illness behind 12 dozen deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
By Nicoletta Lanese published
Between 67 and 143 people in the DRC have died of an unknown, flu-like disease, officials have said.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman cleaned her fish tank and ended up in the hospital
By Nicoletta Lanese published
A bacterial infection that rarely occurs in the United States hit a woman in Maryland after she cleaned her home aquarium.
Doctors discover live worms growing under a woman's eyelid in China
By Emily Cooke published
An office worker in Beijing developed a parasitic infection that caused worms to grow under her right eyelid.
Stone man disease: A rare condition that causes a person to grow a second skeleton
By Emily Cooke published
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an extremely rare congenital condition that causes the body to grow a second skeleton, rendering patients immobile.
Cervical cancer deaths have plummeted among young women, US study finds
By Emily Cooke published
A new study has revealed that cervical cancer deaths have strongly declined in the U.S. since 2016, likely due to increased rates of HPV vaccination.
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