A broad new idea for treating viral infections: blowing up their protective membranes
Chemists are zeroing in on a new antiviral strategy that they hope could be deployed against a wide variety of pathogens. The experimental drugs blow up the fatty membranes that protect many viruses, including ones that cause Covid-19 and the flu, leaving them vulnerable and unable to sneak into cells.
Because those membranes don’t seem to be subject to the same degree of evolutionary pressure as viral proteins — the typical target of antiviral drugs — scientists are hopeful that the chance of developing resistance to the treatments will be low.
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