With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.

Vaccination has beaten back infections for more than a century. Now, it may be the next big step in battling cancer.

Researchers deploy ancestors of today’s adeno-associated viruses to deliver gene therapies without immune system interference.

This year’s Breakthrough Prizes honor advances in CAR T cancer therapies, cystic fibrosis, and Parkinson’s disease.

Conversations between the immune and central nervous systems are proving to be essential for the healthy social behavior, learning, and memory.

Researchers leave no stone unturned in the search for a spinal muscular atrophy treatment strategy that uses base editing.

Once thought only to attack neurons, immune cells turn out to be vital for central nervous system function.

The Scientist’s annual competition uncovered a bonanza of interesting technologies that made their way onto the market and into labs this year.

Researchers are devising ways to prevent viral vectors carrying gene therapies from triggering an immune response.

Viruses, Diseases Author: Karen Young Kreeger Sidebar: Professional Resources for Viral Disease Researchers In the mid- to late 1980s, numerous correlations were discovered between viruses and various types of cancers. For example, Epstein-Barr virus was associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and B-cell lymphoma, hepatitis B virus with liver cancer, and human papillomavirus with cervical cancer. Now, a decade later, basic and clinical scientists are finding out that viruses may also play a r