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Article: UCR scientists discover a novel adaptive antiviral defense mechanism in animals.(University of California, Riverside)
- Article from:
- Virus Weekly
- Article date:
- July 9, 2002
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2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have reported in the journal Science (2002;296(5571):1319-1321) research about "RNA silencing," a novel adaptive antiviral defense in the animal kingdom. Shou-Wei Ding, assistant professor of plant pathology, discovered that when animal cells are attacked by a virus, the cells use RNA silencing to protect themselves from the virus. The discovery could lead to new gene therapies and vaccine designs.
RNA or ribonucleic acid is similar to a single strand of DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid (two strands of DNA typically make up a cell's chromosome), but with a small chemical ...