Study Turns Up Viral Key That Might Lead to Universal Flu Treatment
Influenza A Viruses Influenza A viruses under a microscope. Wellcome Images Researchers have found a novel method for stopping the spread of influenza viruses, a finding that could lead to a universal treatment for flu. The method involves stopping the genetic process by which the virus replicates itself. Researchers can essentially flip a switch that stops RNA in its tracks. The influenza A virus contains eight individual single-stranded RNA segments, each of which has to make protein as well as new segments, in processes called transcription and replication. The multitasking strands must prioritize their work, so they must start with transcription and move on to replication. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York figured out how to prevent RNA from starting the replication process. Their results were published June 1 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using a novel process called deep sequencing, the team found...