Overview
A virus is an obligate intracellular infectious agent consisting of a nucleic acid genome, either DNA or RNA, enclosed in a protein capsid and sometimes a lipid envelope, that can replicate only by hijacking the biosynthetic machinery of a host cell. Lacking independent metabolism, viruses attach to specific host-cell receptors, enter the cell, and direct the synthesis of progeny genomes and structural proteins, which assemble and are released to infect further cells. They are classified by genome type, structure, replication strategy, and host range, and they infect organisms across all domains of life, including bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. Viral infection underlies diseases ranging from the common cold and influenza to hepatitis, AIDS, and emerging epidemic threats such as SARS-CoV-2, while viral evolution, driven by mutation and recombination, shapes pathogenicity, host adaptation, and the challenge of vaccine and antiviral design. Beyond disease, viruses are exploited as tools in molecular biology, gene therapy, and vaccine production. The peer-reviewed research in this area reflects this scope, addressing the molecular evolution of viral genomes, influenza in animal hosts, the role of viruses such as human papillomavirus and Epstein-Barr virus in carcinogenesis, COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development, and surveillance of viral pandemics.
Research published in this journal
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 12 articles above have been cited 26 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
-
2026 · Biomedical & Pharmacology Journal
-
2024 · Springer eBooks
-
D. Hensel et al. · 2023 · International Journal of Sexual Health
-
2023 · Research Square (Research Square)
-
2022 · JMIR Formative Research
-
2022 · Progress in IS
-
2022 · JMIR Formative Research
-
2021 · Veterinary World
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Virus, linking to each citing work.