Dengue could soon be history

In a breakthrough, scientists have identified a new drug target for the deadly dengue virus, paving way for potential vaccines for the world’s most widespread mosquito-borne disease reports PTI. Using an experimental technique new to the dengue field, researchers showed that a molecular hinge where two regions of a protein connect is where natural human antibodies attach to dengue type-3 to disable it. The finding by researchers at the University of North Carolina shows that most human antibodies that neutralise the virus bind to this hinge. It’s the first study to demonstrate how these binding sites can be genetically exchanged without disrupting the integrity of the virus, researchers said. “This gives us a lot of insight into how human antibodies work,” said Aravinda de Silva, a professor of microbiology and immunology in the UNC School of Medicine. “And there could be a lot of translational aspects to this; it could lead to a...