Tag Archives: viral infections

Q&A: New CPIRT director on lung infections, antibiotics, and climate change

By Environment, Health, , , , ,

This summer, the new Yale Center for Pulmonary Infection Research and Treatment (CPIRT) held its first meeting, with the goal of breathing fresh air into the science of lung infection. Conceived by associate professor Dr. Charles Dela Cruz as a cross-disciplinary hub for investigators, CPIRT brings together innovative minds from basic, translational, and clinical research areas across Yale. The center’s ultimate aim is to develop better treatments for both acute and chronic ailments — from pandemic flu to emphysema — that are affected by lung infections. (more…)

Read More

Discovery of Why Influenza B Virus Exclusively Infects Humans Opens Door for Drugs to Fight Seasonal Epidemics Caused by Virus

By Science, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AUSTIN, Texas — The three-dimensional structure of a site on an influenza B virus protein that suppresses human defenses to infection has been determined by researchers at Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin.

The discovery could help scientists develop drugs to fight seasonal influenza epidemics caused by the common influenza B strain.

Their discovery also helps explain how influenza B is limited to humans, and why it cannot be as virulent as A strains that incorporate new genes from influenza viruses that infect other species. (more…)

Read More