So guarding against Melissa-like viruses in the future may involve trade-offs, observers say.
Malware like viruses and spyware are a familiar and critical threat.
They work a lot like viruses and trojans .
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Like those viruses Bagle has an in-built timer that, in this case, will stop the worm spreading on 28 January.
Like other viruses, HIV is a stripped-down invader: To reproduce and bud it uses a single, Swiss Army knife of a protein called GAG that hooks onto a protein normally present in healthy cells.
In the end I think I got the right one and that I'm protected against viruses like BubbleBoy.
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TLRs tend to prompt the immune system to respond to infectious agents like bacteria and viruses - not allergens.
It spreads like other respiratory viruses, through releasing viral particles from coughing and sneezing which then find new hosts in the general vicinity.
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And the map-ping of the genome let scientists decode the genetic blueprint of new viruses like SARS, the virus that swept China in the spring, in a few days.
Like many other recent viruses, Bagle travels with its own e-mail software that help it despatch itself to all the addresses it steals from an infected machine.
The pears get a disinfectant bath in water with up to five parts per million of ozone, which kills viruses (like the ones that cause hepatitis) and bacteria (like E. coli and salmonella).
Our ability to reprogram DNA itself will undoubtedly lead to great advances in medicine, but the danger is that these same techniques can be used to modify viruses, like H5N1 influenza, to become more and more lethal, potentially affecting millions around the globe.
It also scans for viruses which, like the Melissa virus, leave a footprint in the message headers or envelope, Hodges said.
"These studies show that RSV is a 'hit and hide' virus, rather like HIV or some hepatitis viruses, " said Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College and one of those involved in the study.
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It is believed that their strong electric charges attract them either to the viruses (thus inactivating them) or to the cells of the vaginal wall (thus covering those cells like a coat of paint and preventing viruses from entering the body).
But it is much harder to make an effective vaccine against ever-shifting flu viruses than for diseases like measles, polio and diphtheria.
"It's like a stepchild compared with other viruses, " Jansen says.
As those with memories stretching back a couple of decades will recall the various forms of computer malware, the viruses, trojans and the like, were things that affected Microsoft Windows users.
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Metals with a high copper content, like brass, can also be effective at neutralizing viruses.
Those who like their categories cut and dried may wonder whether viruses are alive or not.
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Furthermore, other forms of attack have been favored on particular platforms -- like Unix -- and there have been Unix viruses.
There are still question about doctors giving antibiotics to patients with viral infections like the common cold - antibiotics do nothing against viruses.
Every year, scores of packaged food products are recalled from the U.S. market because of the presence of (all-natural) contaminants like insect parts, toxic molds, bacteria and viruses.
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These genes are also linked to fighting tumours in humans and the study could help research into preventing some types of cancers in people, which like Marek's disease, are caused by viruses.
Few marketing viruses are known to have succeeded on anything like the scale of Hotmail, commonly considered to be the father of viral marketing.
Essentially, they can detect up to eight viruses of various strands of influenza, including things like the H1N1 virus.
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Also, with the popularity of hosted office systems like Office Live 365 and Google Docs and the collaboration providers like Box.net, DropBox and BaseCamp, fewer attachments with potential viruses are being sent around.
Like a lion waiting for those speedy gazelles to slow down and have a drink, criminals hack and load viruses onto sites they suspect attractive targets will visit, then wait.
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