Scientists a step closer to drug treatment for hepatitis B
The team at the Universities of York and Leeds identified an "assembly code" in the genetic material of Hepatitis B Virus that allows it to create a protective casing in which it can produce new infectious virus particles. They found that the signal, generated by ribonucleic acid (RNA), helps viral proteins to overcome an 'engineering problem', assembling them into in a particular geometric pattern. Professor Reidun Twarock, mathematical biologist at the University of York's Department of Mathematics and Biology , said: "It is a bit like the chain on a bicycle. If we don't assemble the chain on the sprockets, it becomes tangled and won't function. Once assembled correctly, it connects the pedals with the wheels allowing the component parts to work together." "We see the same process happening between the Hepatitis B RNA signals and the viral proteins. The proteins are attracted by these signals, which then promote their assembly int...