The silence of the genes
Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 11:35
in Biology & Nature
Viruses have evolved a broad range of strategies that enable them to evade the immune systems of their hosts. A team of researchers led by LMU virologist Professor Jürgen Haas has been studying a novel, recently discovered mechanism that pathogenic viruses exploit for this purpose, and their latest results could point the way to new antiviral therapies. The mechanism is based on the production of short RNA molecules, called microRNAs, by the virus.