Supercomputer shows 3D virus
This 21st-century method of drug development will enable the researchers to delve deeper into the mechanisms at play inside a human cell and how drugs work at the molecular level. Image: Matt_Brown/iStockphoto Melbourne researchers are now simulating in 3D, the motion of the complete human rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, on Australia’s fastest supercomputer, paving the way for new drug development.Rhinovirus infection is linked to about 70 per cent of all asthma exacerbations with more than 50 per cent of these patients requiring hospitalisation. Furthermore, over 35 per cent of patients with acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are hospitalised each year due to respiratory viruses including rhinovirus.A new antiviral drug to treat rhinovirus infections is being developed by Melbourne company Biota Holdings Ltd, targeted for those with these existing conditions where the common cold is a serious threat to their health and could prove fatal.A team of...