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Originally published by Public Library of Science on January 13, 2026 Edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan Credit: Pixabay /CC0 Public Domain In a new study , terrestrial bacteria-infecting viruses were still able to infect their E. coli hosts in near-weightless "microgravity" conditions aboard the International Space Station , but the dynamics of virus-bacteria interactions differed from those observed on Earth . Phil Huss of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues present the findings in the open-access journal PLOS Biology . Interactions between phages—viruses that infect bacteria—and their hosts play an integral role in microbial ecosystems. Often described as being in an evolutionary "arms race," bacteria can evolve defenses against phages, while phages develop new ways to thwart defenses . While virus-bacteria interactions have been studied extensively on Earth, microgravity conditions alter bacterial physiology and the ph...

Originally published at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, on 7 January, 2025 A new study has uncovered a surprising link between Alzheimer’s disease and Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1). Researchers found HSV-1 proteins embedded in Alzheimer’s brains, revealing how the virus is inhibited by tau protein—a key player in the disease. These insights could pave the way for innovative treatments targeting viral activity and the brain’s immune response to slow or even stop Alzheimer’s progression. Picture: In green - herpes virus proteins. In red - Alzheimer’s tau. And also a merge image on the right. (Credit - Shemesh Lab) New study led by  Dr. Or Shemesh from the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem  has uncovered a surprising connection between Alzheimer’s disease and the Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1). The research team used advanced techniques to identify 19 HSV-1-related proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, across all stages of the disease...