The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is published in the Journal of Virology.

BBC: Chicken virus study sheds light on human cancers

Writing about his work earlier this year in Virology Journal, Rice shows how chickenpox is much less common in parts of the world with high levels of UV rays compared with places where the levels are low, and why in temperate zones, the disease peaks in winter and spring, when UV rays are at their lowest.

FORBES: Sun's UV Rays May Prevent Chickenpox