Medical research

Measles origin finding could inform COVID-19 research

An international group of researchers has tackled the controversial question of when measles first emerged, finding it could be linked to the rise of large cities. The team sequenced the genome of a measles strain from 1912 ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Spillover: Why germs jump species from animals to people

When a disease spreads from one species to another it is known as a "spillover event." Although not yet confirmed, preliminary evidence suggests that the virus that causes COVID-19, the 2019 coronavirus disease, may have ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Why it's important to study coronaviruses in African bats

The current outbreak of a new coronavirus disease, named COVID-19, raises the question of where diseases like this come from and where the risks lie. By the middle of February almost 2000 people had died in this outbreak, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Marburg virus found in Sierra Leone bats

Scientists have detected Marburg virus in fruit bats in Sierra Leone, marking the first time the deadly virus has been found in West Africa. Eleven Egyptian rousette fruit bats tested positive for active Marburg virus infection. ...

Neuroscience

How the brain regulates variability in motor functions

Anyone who has ever tried to serve a tennis ball or flip a pancake or even play a video game knows, it is hard to perform the same motion over and over again. But don't beat yourself up—errors resulting from variability ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Bats in Northeast India carry filoviruses that can infect humans

Researchers have proposed that bats are the natural reservoir of filoviruses, including highly fatal Ebola and Marbug viruses. Now, researchers report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases that in Northeast India, bats, as ...

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