Different variants of the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic are swapping chunks of genetic material, but it’s not yet clear what implications that may have for public health.
Researchers identify deletions in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that allow the coronavirus to avoid antibody neutralization and that may contribute to the emergence of new variants.
A study explains how Zika was present among mosquitoes in Africa for decades without causing the harm to human health seen outside the continent in recent years.
Human endogenous retroviruses that colonized vertebrate DNA millions of years ago have long been dismissed as junk DNA, but researchers now know that they may play important roles in cancer, neurodegeneration, and other ailments.
The increased risk is slight, but aligns with a longstanding hypothesis that having more cells in one’s body leads to more chances for those cells to become cancerous.
A study of Shuar children in Ecuador provides a window into how the human body responds to infection in the sorts of conditions that shaped our species’ evolution.