Stop a virus before it can enter a cell, an exciting breakthrough against the flu, HIV, Ebola, hepatitis C, West Nile, Rift Valley fever, and yellow fever.
Viruses are famous for their ability to adapt, but not if we break them first.
To date, antiviral agents only interfere with the virus after it has entered the cell. Now comes the long-sought molecule that will prevent these viruses from attaching to our cells.
Damage the viral envelope, the shell that protects a virus. Human cells can rapidly repair their membrane, but viruses can’t.
How to prevent the fusion of the virus particle with the host cell? The immunobiology lab of Ben Lee at UCLA · Searching our immune system functions · Screening 30,000 molecules · Sealed hazmat suits · Internal oxygen supplies · Membrane Fusion · The Attachment Molecule.