Vaccine using gold dust to mimic viruses could boost the immune system

A vaccine which uses ‘gold dust’ to boost the immune system has been developed by scientists. The technique sees tiny gold particles used to mimic a virus and carry proteins to immune cells in the body. Traditional approaches use dead or inactive viruses as a vaccine. But the new method uses the nanoparticles to mimic the virus. It was demonstrated in the lab coated with a specific protein that sits on the surface of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is the leading viral cause of lower respiration tract infections, causing several hundred thousand deaths and an estimated 65 million infections a year, mainly in children and the elderly. The detrimental effects of RSV come, in part, from a specific protein, called the F protein, which coats the surface of the virus. The protein enables the virus to enter into the cells and also causes cells to stick together, making the virus harder to eliminate. The body’s natural...