(Feb.5, '15) Researchers have cracked a code that governs infections by a
major group of viruses including the common cold and polio.
Until now, scientists had not noticed the code, which had
been hidden in plain sight in the sequence of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) that
makes up this type of viral genome.
But a paper published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition by a group from the University of
Leeds and University of York unlocks its meaning and demonstrates that jamming
the code can disrupt virus assembly. Stopping a virus assembling can stop it
functioning and therefore prevent disease.