Cases of influenza and other respiratory viruses sank dramatically during the pandemic, with potential implications for both people and pathogens.  

While some experts speculate the variant could be partially responsible for India’s current surge in SARS-CoV-2 infections, information about the effects of its mutations is only beginning to emerge.

In a trio of studies, researchers follow up on a 40-year-old finding that certain bacteriophages replace adenine with so-called diaminopurine, perhaps to avoid host degradation.

Genetic analyses suggest that the virus came from a patient who survived the 2013–2016 West African outbreak.

Sam Wilson discusses a user-friendly set of resources that he and his collaborators developed to aid labs pivoting to study COVID-19.

In addition to being more transmissible, the variant now dominant in the UK may be about 30 percent more deadly than previous strains, but much uncertainty remains.

The so-called 614G mutation in the viral spike protein does not appear to cause more severe cases of COVID-19, but multiple studies indicate that it could be more contagious.

Repeat COVID-19 cases could offer clues about people’s immunity to the novel coronavirus and how to vaccinate against it.

A handful of factors tip the scales in making a virus more likely to trigger a disruptive global outbreak. Right now, scientists tend to rank influenza, coronaviruses, and Nipah virus as the biggest threats.

In rare instances, the live virus in oral polio vaccines can mutate and become infectious, causing new outbreaks.

Scientists spent five years reconstructing what is now the oldest HIV-1 genome yet recovered.

Tiny insects carry the tomato spotted wilt virus, which causes infected plants to develop discolored ring-shape blotches.

Analyses of more than 300 ancient human genomes show that Hepatitis B virus has infected humans for at least 4,500 years and has much older origins than modern viral genomes would suggest.

Using epidemiological and laboratory data, scientists have mapped out a sequence of mutations through which the attenuated oral polio vaccine reverts to a virulent virus.

Genetic diversity helped avian influenza A viruses make the leap from birds to humans, researchers report.

Tracking the genetic diversity and evolution of rhinoviruses can lead to a better understanding of viral evolution, the common cold, and more dangerous infections.

The National Institutes of Health reveals a controversial plan to regulate the funding of H5N1 research.

The poxvirus stockpiles genes when it needs to adapt.

Researchers discovered a virus produced from recombination between RNA and DNA viruses, suggesting a possible new mechanism of virus evolution.