Immune discovery opens up new line of attack against viruses | Science | The Guardian

Immune discovery opens up new line of attack against viruses | Science | The Guardian: "They are mankind's greatest killer and rank among the hardest to treat of all diseases, claiming twice as many lives as cancer. But a discovery could give doctors a new weapon in the battle against viruses, including those that cause widespread illnesses such as the common cold and gastroenteritis.

In a report published today, scientists revealed a previously unknown way that the immune system attacks infections, a finding that offers a new approach to treating diseases caused by viruses.

'Doctors have plenty of antibiotics to fight bacterial infections but few antiviral drugs. Although these are early days, and we don't yet know whether all viruses are cleared by this mechanism, we are excited that our discoveries may open multiple avenues for developing new antiviral drugs,' said Dr Leo James at the Laboratory for Molecular Biology in Cambridge, who led the study."