Virus trap made from DNA material could render coronaviruses harmless

The corona pandemic and the SARS-CoV-2 virus are just two examples of the fact that in most cases there is no antidote to viral infections. And even vaccinations do not always provide complete protection. Unlike bacteria, against which antibiotics are generally used for therapy, medicine is generally powerless in the case of viruses. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Germany, and Brandeis University, (U.S.), have now developed a method that could cure viral infections in the future. DNA origami This “virus trap” is based on findings by biologist Donald Caspar and biophysicist Aaron Klug who in 1962 discovered the geometric laws according to which the protein envelopes of viruses are constructed. Later, Hendrik Dietz, professor of biomolecular nanotechnology at the Physics Department of the Technical University of Munich, together with his team and with the support of Seth Fraden and Michael Hagan of Brandeis University in the...