viruses

Herd immunity differs from place to place, and many factors influence how it’s calculated.

Many theories have been offered for why the official COVID-19 toll on the Indian subcontinent has been surprisingly low. The best explanation may be the shortage of good, timely data.

In the fight against viruses and other pathogens, scientists are looking beyond genes and proteins to the complex sugars, or glycans, on cell surfaces.

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase, our extensive knowledge of other coronaviruses informs our understanding.

Zoonotic diseases like influenza and many coronaviruses start out in animals, but their biological machinery often enables them to jump to humans.

For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.

In evolution, context is everything: Bacteria with neighbors evolve to rebuff viruses in a different way.

Smallpox was eradicated relatively quickly, but other diseases have proved harder to eliminate. The reasons are a mix of biology and psychology.

Some viruses can replicate without infecting any one cell with all their genes.