Viruses have traditionally been mankind’s enemies, causing disease and often mutating out of the reach of our medicines. But now a new technology is conscripting them into doing good.
Viral vectors show great promise so expect to hear a lot more about them in the future, starting with this brief introduction.
They’re basically viruses modified to not cause disease that are then used to introduce genetic material into cells. These genes can alter the behaviour of the cells to cure disease or allow scientists to learn about the nature of the cells.
Read the full, original story: From scourge to saviour: using viruses to treat serious disease
