imageimageViro3D provides proteome-level, high confidence AI-protein structure predictions for >4,400 viruses, allowing mapping of form and function across the human and animal virosphere. Viro3D i...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

Defective viral genomes (DVGs) have been identified in vivo and in vitro for different virus species infecting humans, animals, and plants. The ability to form DVGs during the passaging of virus in on...

In the virus-encoded CRISPR-based direct readout system, single-guide RNA libraries are expressed directly from the genomes of viruses so that single-guide RNA abundance at distinct stages of the vira...

Abstract. The Apicomplexa are a phylum of single-celled eukaryotes that can infect humans and include the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium, the cause of

The ability to study mature neuronal cells ex vivo is complicated by their non-dividing nature and difficulty in obtaining large numbers of primary cells from organisms. Thus, numerous transformed progenitor models have been developed that can be routinely cultured, then scaled, and differentiated to mature neurons. In this paper, we present a new method for differentiating one such model, the Lund human mesencephalic (LUHMES) dopaminergic neurons. This method is two days faster than some established protocols, results in nearly five times greater numbers of mature neurons, and involves fewer handling steps that could introduce technical variability. Moreover, it overcomes the problem of cell aggregate formation that commonly impedes high-resolution imaging, cell dissociation, and downstream analysis. While recently established for herpes simplex virus type 1, we demonstrate that LUHMES neurons can facilitate studies of other herpesviruses, as well as RNA viruses associated with childhood encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever. This protocol provides an improvement in the generation of large-scale neuronal cultures, which may be readily applicable to other neuronal 2D cell culture models and provides a system for studying neurotrophic viruses. We named this method the Streamlined Protocol for Enhanced Expansion and Differentiation Yield, or SPEEDY, method.

Author summary Lassa fever is a viral illness that causes yearly outbreaks in West Africa and has the potential to spread internationally, with cases recently reported in several countries outside the region. Quickly identifying the genetic lineage of the virus responsible is critical for inferring the source of outbreaks and guiding medical and public health responses. However, tools designed specifically for rapid Lassa virus lineage identification are almost non-existent. In this study, we introduce CLASV, a fast and user-friendly tool that uses machine learning to identify the major circulating lineages of Lassa virus from genetic sequences. Validated on real-world data, CLASV achieved high accuracy even when working with incomplete sequences. It runs in minutes on a standard computer, making it practical for deployment in local low-resource laboratories. By providing timely and reliable lineage information, CLASV has the potential to enhance outbreak response and enable more targeted public health interventions—both in West Africa and in countries managing imported cases.

Label-free Raman spectroscopy is utilized for an in-depth characterization of alveolar macrophages directly within intact precision-cut human lung slices. Characteristic biochemical changes in indivi...

Abstract. Changes in alternative splicing between groups or conditions contribute to protein–protein interaction rewiring, a consequence often neglected in

The SARS-CoV-2 genome occupies a unique place in infection biology – it is the most highly sequenced genome on earth (making up over 20% of public sequencing datasets) with fine scale information on s...