CS seems to be able to weave itself into different aspects
of life. Recently, a group of scientists from the University of York and
University of Leeds developed a code to control the assembly of viruses. Similarly
to how some viruses use a code in their genetic genome to create proteins, this
research team of scientists used RNA molecules as the artificial messages,
which are harmless because they can no longer make viral proteins, to make the
code. Scientists have studied the hidden assembly code of viruses and have
manipulated this code to write their own messages for viral assembly. They have
even been able to write an artificial code for assembly that is better than the
virus’s code.
What this team hopes to do with this code is make a harmless
coat protein shells that looks like a virus and holds the artificial code into
the body to make protein shells. These artificial shells could trick the immune
system to trigger a response to defeat the actual virus in the body. Others
methods that they are looking into is transporting cargo to specific cells and
in therapeutic application such as creating synthetic vaccines or treating
cancer patients.
It’s estimated that it will take 2-3 years before this
technology is available since it will take time to do human trials. However,
this new discover is a great example of how CS can applied to positively impact
human health in medical treatment and immunization.
Sources
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