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CDC Finds New 'Heartland' Virus in Missouri

Tick-borne bug is new to science

(Newser) - Two unlucky farmers in Missouri helped scientists discover a brand-new virus with an all-American name. The two are the only known victims of the Heartland tick-borne virus, detected through genetic analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports NPR . Both men recovered, but they were sick for weeks...

Sick? Next-Gen Generators Are Viruses
 Next-Gen 
 Generators 
 Are Viruses 
how sick
May 16, 2012 8:01 AM CDT

Next-Gen Generators Are Viruses

Device uses viruses to harvest electricity from movement

(Newser) - Scientists have unveiled what they say could be the forerunner of many virus-powered gadgets. A team at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a tiny generator powered by a benign virus, reports the BBC . When a finger touches an electrode coated with viruses, they converted...

Study Made Bird Flu More Contagious

Report finally out, despite government terrorism fears

(Newser) - The journal Nature has published a controversial paper describing how University of Wisconsin scientists created an airborne strain of H5N1—aka "bird flu"—that was transmissible in mammals. A federal panel had asked Nature not to publish the study, and a similar one from a Dutch virologist, fearing...

Mystery Dolphin Die-Off Hits Peru

Acoustic impact or virus could be to blame

(Newser) - Something mysterious is killing thousands of dolphins in Peru. Since January, an estimated 2,800 of the sea creatures have been found dead on Peru's northern beaches, reports Scientific American . Experts believe the mass die-off could be caused by acoustic interference stirred up by oil testing or possibly a...

Trojan Virus Has Infected 600K Macs, Firm Claims

Virus may allow hackers to create 'botnet' from infected machines

(Newser) - Are you a smug Mac user who assumes you can't possibly get a virus? Well, think again. A Russian anti-virus firm believes that about 600,000 Macs around the world have been infected with the Flashback Trojan virus—and about half of those are expected to be in the...

Facebook Virus Gang Living in Luxury

Koobface Gang not bothering to hide their identities, location

(Newser) - You might think a cabal of cyber criminals who'd ripped off 400,000 to 800,000 Facebook users would be on the run and living deep underground. You'd be wrong. The so-called "Koobface Gang," makers of a Facebook worm that's done just that, is living...

Biggest Virus Ever Found Off Chile

'Megavirus' likely only infects amoebas

(Newser) - Ocean water off the coast of Chile has yielded the biggest virus ever discovered. Megavirus chilensis is up to 20 times wider than the average virus and is bigger than many bacteria. Megavirus, like all other viruses, infects the cells of living organisms to replicate itself—but humans don't...

Apple's iOS Harbors Security Flaw, Germany Warns

Opening infected PDFs could install malware

(Newser) - IPads, iPhones, and iPods are all vulnerable to “critical weaknesses” that could “allow possible attackers to gain administrator rights and get access to the entire system,” Germany’s IT security agency warned today. Clicking on an infected PDF could allow attackers to install malware without your knowledge,...

US, Russia Fighting to Keep Smallpox

Virus samples needed to guard against bioterrorism, US argues

(Newser) - Smallpox was once one of the deadliest diseases ever known, but now only the US and Russia stand between it and utter annihilation. The two countries have the last known stocks of the virus, which was eradicated by vaccination more than 30 years ago, and they're resisting efforts to set...

Virus Wiping Out Crickets Raised for Snakes

Cricket farms being forced out of business

(Newser) - These are hard times for America's cricket farmers, and unless a virus is brought under control, they could become hungry times for pet snakes. The virus has swept through farms, killing millions of the crickets raised for pet reptiles and zoo animals, and driving several farmers out of business, the...

Cocaine 'Vaccine' Could Help Addicts Kick Habit

Researchers trick body's immune system into attacking the drug

(Newser) - A vaccine that diminishes the high of cocaine in rats could someday help human addicts kick the habit, LiveScience reports. Researchers created the vaccine by combining a virus associated with the common cold—for its ability to trigger the body's immune system—with a cocaine-like molecule. It showed promise when...

Scientists Zero In on Cure for the Common Cold

Drugs could boost body's natural virus-killing process

(Newser) - Until recently, it was thought that there was no cure for the common cold. Now, new research shows that our immune systems can destroy the cold virus after it has entered a cell, the Independent reports. New antiviral drugs could be developed based on this research within the next few...

Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus
 Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus  
Oct 15, 2010 7:56 AM CDT

Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus

Rinderpest's eradication 'biggest achievement in veterinary history'

(Newser) - Scientists say they have eradicated the deadly cattle virus rinderpest, marking only the second time in history that humanity has wiped out a viral disease. Smallpox was wiped out 30 years ago. Rinderpest—which originated in Asia and spread around the world with invaders from Genghis Khan onward—was capable...

Honeybee Killer Finally Found
 Honeybee Killer Finally Found 
Oct 7, 2010 7:30 AM CDT

Honeybee Killer Finally Found

Colonies collapsing due to fungus-virus combination

(Newser) - For years, experts have been trying to figure out what is killing all the honeybees—and they may finally have an answer. Since 2006, 20% to 40% of US bee colonies have collapsed, and suspected causes have included genetically modified corn , pesticides , and bad weather . New research, however, points to...

Childhood Obesity Epidemic Linked to Virus

Cold virus found in disproportionate number of obese children

(Newser) - The steep rise in childhood obesity over the last 30 years may have as much to do with a common virus as it does with diet and lifestyle, according to new research which adds weight to "infectobesity" theories. Scientists studied a group of 124 children in California and discovered...

Three in 4 Americans Hit By Cyber Crime

According to Norton study, two-thirds of all web surfers are victims

(Newser) - A whopping 65% of all web surfers and 73% of Americans have been the victim of online crime, according to a new survey from Symantec—the company behind Norton Anti-Virus. That makes the US the fourth-most victimized country in the world, behind China (83%) and India and Brazil (each 76%),...

MIT Creates Viruses That Mimic Photosynthesis

Innovation could create unlimited solar power

(Newser) - Scientists building complex, designer viruses in the lab may sound sort of terrifying, but what if those viruses could potentially solve the world’s energy problems? A group of researchers at MIT has fabricated an artificial virus that can be fabricated into wire-like chains that can transport solar power and...

Virus Tied to Fatigue, HIV May Be in Blood Supply

Feds unsure whether XMRV actually poses a threat, but probe ongoing

(Newser) - Public health officials are calmly but vigilantly pursuing a possible new threat to the nation’s blood supply linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. The virus, dubbed XMRV for the awful-sounding xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, may be present in the blood of 4% of Americans, and was...

New Zealander Injects Wife With His Own HIV

Hoped common illness would aid marriage, she'd have sex again

(Newser) - An HIV-positive New Zealander faces 14 years in prison for infecting his wife with the virus in hopes that she would start sleeping with him again. The husband allegedly pricked her with a sewing needle laced with his blood because she—who had tested negative after his diagnosis—stopped having...

'Singer Worm' Hits iPhones


 'Singer Worm' Hits iPhones 
Nov 10, 2009 1:45 AM CST

'Singer Worm' Hits iPhones

Wallpaper switched in first virus to hit popular phones

(Newser) - The first virus to hit iPhones is substituting users' wallpaper with a portrait of 80's pop star Rick Astley and the warning: "Ikee is never going to give you up." The virus isn't harming anything else, but observers say it's a warning that hackers have learned how to...

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